Knowing Normal's Hard to Fake
by Metropolis Kid
Summary: Sequel to "Such a Quiet Thing, to Fall". As Seras Victoria struggles to rebuild her connection to the Force, events are set into motion that could spell the doom of everyone in the galaxy! Hints of AxS pairing.
1. Recovering

** STAR WARS**

**Knowing Normal's Hard to Fake**

The galactic Republic is currently enjoying a time of relative peace during the centuries following the events of the Mandalorian War and the Jedi Civil War. All is not well however, for Sith lords and ancient threats thought gone and buried long ago have begun to stir. On the outer rim, where the Republic's strength is limited and planets are often left to fend for themselves a conflict is brewing which, if left unchecked, could mean the end of all life in the galaxy.

As the former Jedi, Seras Victoria, struggles to master her new relationship with the Force and regain the power she once had, her master's master is forced to hire a band of mercenaries to bolster her planetary security force, following the unexpected and bloody attack that claimed the lives of more than half her Mandalorian warriors.

Meanwhile, on the surface of a planet housing one of the Jedi's most far-flung training academies, a battle rages...

* * *

**Chapter 1: Recovering**

"Stay together! Don't let them through! Cover your flanks! Sweeping fire, men, _sweeping_ _fire_!" A scared veteran ordered in a voice tinged with barely controlled panic. What were these silver monstrosities? Where had they come from? And what could they possibly want from a hole-in-the-wall farming community on the hind end of space? Most importantly, where were those Jedi guardians when you really needed them?

"Observation: their center is too tightly packed. A plasma mortar would cause maximum carnage," The synthesized voice of one of the silvery machines of death commented with more than a hint of genuine enthusiasm, its frame shinning with reflected blaster rife.

"Opinionated response: How delightful," an assassin droid beside the first cooed as three droids in the back of their formation stopped, pulled inventory sacks from off their backs and with mechanical precision assembled a plasma mortar in a matter of seconds.

A glowing shell briefly lit up the night sky. It reached the apex of its flight and hung for just a split second before descending like a falling star... a falling star with death trailing in its wake. The center of the human formation exploded in a sea of plasma. Five men were simply dissolved by the wave of energy. They were the lucky ones. The rest of those in the center, those not bearing the brunt of the blast, were assaulted by flying balls of plasma that effortlessly passed through armor, cloth and flesh alike. Those 'fortunate' enough to not have any vital organs melted from them, by the balls of heat, suffered the fate of their clothes and skin catching fire from the impact points, the flames quickly spreading to consume them.

Men screamed and cried as machines looked on in satisfied pleasure. "Amused comment: Maximum carnage indeed."

Then, out of the dying plasma flames, glowing sabers appeared. The men who were left broke off their firing for a split second and cheered as hope returned to their hearts.

The Jedi had arrived.

The machines stood firm as the Jedi charged. The mechanical creations seemed to care nothing for themselves as they were decimated by the enemies' lightsabers. The dozen or so Jedi cut down more than a hundred of the machines in a matter of minutes. Even still, more came.

On a hill overlooking the battlefield an ebony sphere turned to a Wookiee and a heavily tattooed, very 'butch' looking woman. The spherical machine protected a blue hologram from its northern half. "They've finally sent out the Jedi. Good, good. You may now begin your mission," the blue tinted, pudgy man in a business suit instructed as he tapped his fingers lightly together.

"Yes, Sir," the woman answered. "I'll drag those little brats out, and to those who dare to stand in my way... I'll bring their darkest nightmares to life and laugh as they squirm. Then when their minds are broken I'll end their lives and take the last flicker of light from their eyes!"

"Have your fun, Zorin, Just see that the younglings are intact when they reach me," the hologram replied in a warning tone.

The woman suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spin. "Y-yes, Sir. I will not fail."

"See that you don't."

The woman saluted and then turned and headed for the academy in the distance.

The Wookiee said nothing, nor did he give any indication of what he may have been thinking. He simply followed in the woman's wake, silent as the grave.

* * *

Seras walked the halls of Integra's mansion, the same mansion which doubled as the planetary defense force's base of operations. The place seemed so... empty. In truth, thanks to the recent addition of a large band of mercenaries, the mansion was nearly as populated as it had been before the sneak attack launched by the Hellsing organization's mysterious enemies. But, though Seras knew that there were nearly as many people present, there was a big difference between knowing... and feeling. And Seras was still having trouble feeling anything.

The surprise attack had changed her, severed her connection to the Force... or at least irrevocably altered it. She could sense the Force in others. In fact she could sense its subtle nuances working more strongly in them than ever before. Thanks to her master's training she was learning how to manipulate those nuances and even draw on them herself. _'You have a choice now, Seras,' _Alucard's words echoed in his apprentice's mind.

_'You can be either a lens... or a siphon. As a lens the energy of others will pass through you, both allowing you to draw on it temporarily and simultaneously focusing it to enhance the capabilities of those closest to you. This creates a bond between the two of you, a bond not wholly unlike the one we share... but to a much lesser degree. As a siphon you draw energy from those around you and make it a part of yourself. You leech not just strength from those closest to you, but their very essence. You can slowly consume them until all that they are lies within you. And you become all the more powerful from this experience. These techniques are not mutually exclusive either, my apprentice. they can both be learned and utilized for different situations. But as with any journey only one path can be traveled at a time. As for which one you will learn to map first, the choice is yours to make, Seras.'_

For Seras the choice had been an easy one. She had no desire to 'consume' anyone. She chose to be a lens, to strengthen those around her as she united them into something more than the sum of their parts. Seras never regretted her decision in this, nor did she question what she would decide if she were given the choice once more, yet she did notice a side effect of this path that she found rather inconvenient. She didn't like to be alone.

No one liked to be alone all the time. Human beings were social creatures after all, but this went beyond innate desire for company. Without the any spark of the Force within her, Seras felt rather like an empty shell when deprived of the company of others. The feeling was more than simple loneliness, though that was a part of it. Hunger was another part; she craved the presence of others the way a starving man craved food. And she was cold - so cold - not physically but somewhere deep within the core of who she was.

Then, suddenly, in the chill of the night, in the midst of the darkness, Seras caught a flicker of warmth and light. And like a moth being drawn to a flame, she followed it, followed it right to the door of Integra Hellsing's office.

Her master's master was within and, from what Seras could sense was, not eager for the company of another. The Mandalorian leader was frustrated, upset, and violent thoughts flashed through her mind. Her organization had been attacked, her men killed, and she still had no idea who was behind the attack or why it had been launched. And then Seras sensed something else from the woman on the other side of the door. It was similar to despair, but not as strong. No, not despair, uselessness.

Seras thought about going into the office and trying to cheer up the other woman - sometimes all one needed to brighten their day was someone to talk to about what was bothering them. But the fledgling Sith apprentice decided against it. Without a rouse, Integra would question why Seras was coming to her, and if the Mandalorian leader discovered the truth, she was not likely to be pleased by the revelation. She was after all a very private person, and she would doubtless view Seras's empathetic connection as an intrusion into that privacy.

So, instead, Seras stayed outside the door and used what she'd learned from her master to try and filter out some of the more negative feelings radiating from his own master. It was a symbiotic action, giving warmth and substances top Seras as it - hopefully - simultaneously comforted Integra.

"I see the boss lady's just as intimidating to you Jedi," A husky voice whispered from somewhere behind Seras, snapping her out of her near trance.

The Sith apprentice then felt the warmth of another presence, one she'd failed to notice growing nearer as she'd been concentrating on Integra. This new presence was lighter, more spontaneous and tinged with a slight aurora of lasciviousness. Seras turned around to find herself face to face with a rather scruffy looking man.

He wore a dingy brown coat. His hair was long, red and constrained into a great braid that wrapped around his neck before trailing down his back. He had a black eye-patch over one eye; and the other was an emerald green that somehow seemed to speak of experiences best left unsaid and new mistakes the man was just waiting to make. He was a man who had seen more of the universe - both good and bad - than most people even suspected existed, a man who routinely got himself into tight spots, who'd won and lost countless times... and yet regretted nothing.

The man lit the cigarette dangling between two fingers and waved the match out with his other hand. He then extended that same hand towards the girl staring at him so intently. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Pip, Pip Solo, head of the Wild Geese," the man said leaning in slightly as a roguish grin pulled at his lips.

Seras hesitated for a moment. Something about the man made her feel... strange. But she sensed no maliciousness from him. So, she extended her hand and shook his. "Seras Victoria, pleased to meet you."

* * *

Okay, finally, I've managed to post the first chapter of this sequel that I've been promising for like six months. :P Sorry about the long wait, but I hope you all had fun with the chapter. I've entered a 'story swapping deal' with Lion in the Land, where we both post a chapter to our sequel stories every other week, alternating weeks so that we're not posting at the same time. (So... tag, Lila, you're up. ;p) And the next chapter to this should be up in about two weeks. In the mean time, if any of you happen to be Harry Potter fans, you should check out Lion in the Land's new story: "Charity Burbage and the New Prince". If it's anything like her previous Harry Potter fic - "Professor Burbage and the Potions Master" - I think you'll really enjoy it. I did, and I'm not even a HP fan. Well, anyway, hope you had fun and stop back in in two weeks for the next chapter.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Oh, and if the title of this story sounds familiar to anyone, that's probably because it's taken from the lyrics to Stone Sour song: Socio. Good song, by the way.

PPS. Sorry about the first chapter bouncing around so much. I kinda needed that to kick things off. Future chapters will - hopefully - be a bit more linear.


	2. The Departing

**Chapter 2: The Departing**

**

* * *

**

All the major Hellsing players were gathered together in Integra's office. Walter had uncovered enough information about their mysterious, new enemy to conduct a briefing, and the head of the Hellsing organization wanted all of her best soldiers present. Alucard, the right hand of Integra's organization, stood at the side of his master's chair. Seras, Alucard's apprentice, and Ordo, the Hellsing organization's top pilot, sat in the two chairs in front of Integra's desk. Walter was off to the side, positioned so that everyone in the room could see him as he read the information stored on his datapad.

Even Captain Pip Solo was present, though as the head of a recently hired band of mercenaries - not a full-fledged member of the Hellsing organization - he was relegated to a folding chair placed in one of the office's back corners, a rather undignified position, but Pip didn't bother complaining. He'd been the 'new guy' enough times to know how pecking orders worked. Actions, not words, spoke to people like those present, and his condition would only improve as he was able to prove his worth to his new employer. Mere words would serve only to aggravate her. So the mercenary captain sat quietly, all 'back of the bus', and listened as Walter continued his briefing.

"They call themselves Millennium, most likely a reference to some idea or event; but, as of yet, I don't know what. From what I've uncovered it seems they date back almost all the way to the Jedi Civil War - the last one that is - but they favor the shadows, operating behind the scenes, in the outer rim, far from the Republic's eye. For example they seem to have been the ones behind that recent incursion into Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun. This below the radar behavior has changed however, as reports indicate that just over five days ago Nebulon III was attacked by and army of silver colored droids matching the description of the ones who attacked our organization."

Seras tensed at the mention of Nebulon III, and stared more intently at Walter. She said nothing however, and the Hellsing servant continued his briefing uninterrupted.

"The Nebulon system is still on the Republic's outer rim, not too far from us in fact, but it holds several mining colonies rich in minerals crucial to starship construction, and the majority of the minerals mined from the Nebulon system are used to construct Republic warships. As such, the system is very important to the Republic, as evidenced by the presence of a Jedi training academy on Nebulon III, the system's sole agricultural world. The Republic is not likely to overlook such an attack; nor are the Jedi, considering the fact that during the attack their academy was sacked and several of the younglings abducted. Whatever Millennium is planning, they're getting bolder... or perhaps more desperate. Either way, they present a clearer, more present danger now than ever before."

"You said that they took younglings from the academy on Nebulon III," Seras piped in. "Do you have any idea where they're headed?"

"Actually, I do," Walter nearly beamed in reply. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to acquire a satellite reading of their hyperspace vector when they departed the system." The Hellsing servant set his datapad down on Integra's desk and a holographic emitter placed at the bottom created a galactic map of shimmering blue. "From that vector I was able to calculate a list of possible hyperspace routs. Most dead-ended in relatively unimportant areas or heavily defended Republic hubs that I don't believe Millennium has any intension of visiting... at least not yet." Walter pointed to each hyperspace rout as he delivered the information. "One, however, leads to a very interesting location on the other side of the galactic rim: Malachor V."

"The Trayus Academy," Alucard commented. "An... interesting destination choice."

"Interesting?" Integra asked. "Why?"

"It is a place of ancient Sith power, an academy that has been forgotten and rediscovered countless times. There are dark secrets there; things best left buried," the Sith master replied cryptically.

"But it's an academy, right?" Seras asked. "So, maybe Millennium intends to use the place to train the younglings, they've taken, in the ways of the Dark Jedi, to corrupt them and use them to replace the forces Millennium's lost in its confrontations with us?"

"Unlikely," Alucard replied. "The Trayus Academy was designed to... 're-educate' fully developed, 'fallen' Jedi. It was not meant to be a training ground for seven to fifteen year old younglings. Millennium's intensions are likely far more sinister... and quick."

"You don't know that. They could've adapted the training facilities, scaled them down for younger students," Seras counted.

Alucard sighed in response. "Anything is possible, my young apprentice. I was merely commenting on what is most likely."

"Enough," Integra interjected. "Whatever Millennium's plans are, we cannot allow them to come to fruition. We need to reach Malachor V and stop them."

"Understood, Sir," Ordo replied respectfully. "They have a sizeable lead on us, but I believe I could get a transport to the Malachor system within seventy-two galactic hours." The pilot highlighted a more dangerous hyperspace rout, one that was more direct than the one the Millennium ship took but also drifted close enough to several large gravitational fields - black holes and super stars - that only the most skilled, desperate or insane pilots would dare to use it.

Integra shook her head. "Not fast enough. The Millennium ship is a day away at most, and we don't know what they're planning. We can't let them reach the planet two days before we do."

"I agree that such an event is... undesirable. But I'm afraid it's also unavoidable. There is no shorter Hyperspace rout," Ordo responded.

"What about these," Integra countered as she highlighted a more direct path that used four different hyperspace routs to cut through the middle of the galaxy. "The shortest distance between two places is a straight line. If we head through the center of the galaxy, instead of skirting the edges, we should reach other end of the rim in less time."

"True... but those Hyperspace routs aren't connected. We'd have to cross through Republic controlled sectors while in normal space, and none of our ships have clearance for that. If the Republic catches us, they'll try to detain us."

"So... don't let them."

"Then they'll attack us, and a transport isn't much of a match for a bulk cruiser."

"So it's fear that causes you to refuse my orders?" Integra growled.

Ordo looked insulted, insulted... and a little upset by his leader's accusation. "No, Sir. I'm a Mandalorian. I'll go where I'm told, fight what I'm told, and die serving my people and our leader. And such a death will be my honor. If you order me to fly into the very gates of Hell, I will do so without fear or reservation. I'm not refusing anything... I'm just informing you that the course you've indicated is likely to get us all killed - and thus end our mission in complete failure."

Integra locked eyes with her pilot, and for a moment the tension built. Then she nodded in understanding. It was the closest thing Ordo would get to an apology... and it was more than he was expecting to receive.

"Very well. I guess the longer rout can't be helped."

"Oh I wouldn't say that," Pip chimed in, speaking for the first time. "I've taken on jobs in every corner of the galaxy, so my ship has clearance codes for hundreds of sectors... including the ones indicated in your flight plan. And my ship's fast - very fast."

Integra paused and mulled over her options. She didn't care much for the idea of trusting what few Mandalorians she had left with her to the care of an outsider and his vessel. On the other hand, time was of the essence, and this particular outsider was pledged to her service, even if that pledge had been sealed in credits rather than blood. Even still, just how far could she trust a pledge so obtained? As a compromise with herself, the Mandalorian leader finally decided on a two pronged plan of attack.

"Alright. Alucard, Seras, you two will go with Captain Solo and form a scouting party. Try to figure out what Millennium's up to, but don't attack them unless absolutely necessary. Ordo, you'll transport the remaining Mandalorians, including myself, and Captain Solo's Wild Geese. We'll rendezvous at Malachor V; and, assuming my Sith servants, haven't already gone in and made a mess of things, attack together."

"My ship's quite large. I'm sure it could transport all of us," Pip offered up.

"No, I have few enough 'eggs' as it is. I'm not putting them all in one basket."

"Alright," Pip consented. "But at least let me take my Wild Geese. We've done reconnaissance missions before, an-"

"I can assure you, my Sith know how to handle a simple reconnaissance mission... Besides, if I'm going to trust you with the transportation of my men, then you're going to trust me with the transportation of yours."

Pip's brow knit in confusion over Integra's last statement, than a realization dawned on him. She didn't trust him. Not yet anyway. She wanted some insurance that he wasn't going to betray her, and his own men were to serve as that insurance. The mercenary sighed. His new boss was an overly suspicious woman, though not the most paranoid employer he'd ever dwelt with. It seemed this was going to be one of those times when, despite his record of always finishing the jobs he was paid for, he was still going to have to build trust with his new employer. Well, it wasn't like it was something he'd never gone through before. "As you wish."

* * *

"The Andromeda Eagle," Captain Solo proclaimed with more than a bit of pride as the three stood in the Hellsing hanger, staring at his ship.

"What a piece of junk," Alucard scoffed in reply.

Pip's eyes narrowed. "I thought you Jedi were taught not to judge things by their appearance. Sure, the ol' gal may not look like much. But she's got it where it counts. I've made a lot of... special modifications. But, we're a little rushed, so if you'll hurry aboard, we'll get out of here."

"I'm a Sith, not a Jedi," Alucard growled at Pip.

"Whatev-" the merc began to reply, but reconsidered when he saw the imposing look in the killer's eyes. "Right. Sith. Got it."

Alucard nodded in approval and headed towards the ship. Seras lingered for just a moment longer. "You can still call me a Jedi... if you want to," she said to the merc before following her master.

Pip shook his head. Hanging out with Force users was going to take some getting used to.

The three entered the ship, and were almost instantaneously greeted by the appearance of a small hologram projected at the top of the loading ramp. The hologram had the form of a woman, with high cheek bones, almond eyes, and black hair neatly trimmed to where her neck met her back. "I see we have some... 'guests'," the hologram commented to Pip.

"Yeah, Romie, we'll be taking them t-"

"Malachor V, yes. I already know."

Seras's brow furrowed."You know? How?"

"Romie, what have I told you about tapping into client's surveillance and information systems?"

"Don't get caught?" the hologram offered up.

"No. Don't do it without my permission... and then don't get caught," the captain corrected.

"Oh yes, I always seem to forget that first part," the hologram responded, causing Pip to roll his eyes and mumble something about a memory wipe. "Really, though, how else do you expect me to stay informed... being locked up in this hanger and all?" She grinned slightly.

"Excuse me," Seras interjected. "But what are you... exactly?"

"Ship's AI," the hologram answered. "I regulate the systems: life support, food synthesizers, environmentals, energy distribution, shields, and propulsion. I also correct software malfunctions, inform the crew of hardware failures, calculate hyperspace vectors, and I'm in charge of HAIW."

"Haiw?" Seras asked.

"H.A.I.W. - Hacking and Intrusion Warfare," Pip replied. "She's in charge of electronically sabotaging enemy ships, devices and installations... while simultaneously insuring that they don't do the same to us."

"For all intents and purposes, I _am_ the Andromeda Eagle. Oh... and I heard that little comment you made outside, Alucard." Romie's eyes narrowed at the Sith, mimicking the reaction of her captain.

Alucard just chuckled, apparently finding the idea of a ship being upset with him to be an amusing concept. Seras wondered if her master would feel the same way once they were out in space, living at the mercy of the life-support systems this AI apparently controlled.

The Sith apprentice determined to make a better first impression than her master had. "Hello, Romie. Pleased to meet you. I'm Seras Victoria."

"Yes, I know," the AI responded. "And welcome aboard. It'll be nice to have another woman around to chat with. My normal crew is a little... er, 'testosterone heavy'... No offence, Pip."

"None taken," the captain replied. "But if you two don't mind, I'd like to get going... before the boss lady calls up and starts yelling."

"Yeah, if what your men have been saying about her is any indication, that's probably a good idea," the AI agreed as the hologram facing the three vanished and Pip headed towards the ship's bridge.

_'I'd planned to wait until we were alone, but with a sentient ship that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. So I'll settle for this,'_ Alucard thought to his apprentice, his voice echoing in her head._'What is the significance of the Jedi Academy on Nebulon III?'_

_'What do you mean?'_

_'You've done a good job of hiding your emotions externally, but internally is a very different matter. You've been... anxious since Walter first mentioned the academy. Why?'_

_'You don't know? You've obviously been reading my mind,'_ Seras retorted as she turned away from her master.

_'Not your mind, my apprentice, your emotions... surface emotions, those that flow easily over our bond. I do try to respect the... sanctity of other's minds... well, your mind and that of my master at least. But I can hardly be held accountable for what you two shout over our bonds.'_

_'If that's the case, then why don't I ever... overhear anything from you?'_

_'Over the centuries I've gotten very good at whispering.'_

_'CENTURIES? Just how old are you?'_

_'Now, now, Apprentice, quit trying to change the subject,'_ Alucard chided. _'What's the significance of the Jedi Academy on Nebulon III?'_

_'I... It's nothing important.'_

_'It's effecting your concentration and stirring up a volatile mixture of emotions. Useful as that may be, I want to know the source of this anxiousness. You are my apprentice and anything that stirs up such emotions in you is important to me.'_

_'Oh? Well... like I said it's nothing major. I was just... Well that's where I was sent after my parents died. The Jedi who found me after the attack determined that I was strong in the Force and took me back to Nebulon III for training. I was a youngling there, myself.'_

_'I see,'_ Alucard responded but failed to comment further on the matter. Instead he withdrew from his apprentice's mind and was simply... gone when she turned around.

* * *

Several hours passed, and the Force starved, Sith apprentice found herself pulled towards the ship's sole source of warmth.

Pip was in the cockpit, staring out at the swirling blue and white tunnel of hyperspace, his mind wandering as he gazed at its seemingly infinite pathways. He'd drifted off completely and as a result didn't even notice Seras, who was standing by the entrance to the bridge, until she started to speak.

"Excuse me, but are you busy?"

Captain Solo looked over at the Sith apprentice and grinned. "No, not really. Isn't much for a pilot to do while the ship's in hyperspace. Even the slightest manual course adjustment could send us spiraling light-years off course, could even drop us in the middle of a sun or planet."

Seras gulped. "Um... yes, then it's probably a good idea for you to move away from the controls, no?"

Pip chuckled. "Don't worry. Safety's on. The controls are shut down, and Romie won't reactivate them again until we exit Hyperspace."

"Oh, good to know. So then... you've got some free time?"

"I suppose... what did you have in mind?" Pip replied, his lip pulling into a roguish grin.

Seras blushed as she felt the emotions coming off the merc. "No-nothing like that, I assure you, Captain Solo," she was quick to respond. "I-I just thought that maybe we could... I don't know... Maybe this was just a bad idea."

The Sith apprentice turned to leave.

"Wait," Pip called after her, causing Seras to give him an over the shoulder look. "How about a game?"

"What sort of 'game'?" the Sith apprentice asked suspiciously.

"Pazaak. You familiar with it?"

"I've played a couple of times before," Seras replied, now turning fully back towards the merc. In truth she'd played the game quite a bit back during her academy days. One of her roommates had managed to smuggle a set of cards past their Jedi masters - none of the other younglings knew how - and the gambling game of rogues across the galaxy had become a fixture of the young Jedi's scares moments of 'down time'. Of course, Pip didn't need to know any of that. The game was after all, one best played 'close to the vest'.

"Really? That's kind of surprising, pleasantly surprising since it means I won't have to explain the rules to you. Fancy a game?"

Seras smiled. "Sure, why not."

* * *

There's a few more Easter Egg references and quotes for you all this time - including the Ship's AI which is almost a giveaway reference for any Gene Roddenberry fans - for a little extra fun, see how many you can name in your review. ;)

Well, now we've reached the end of the second chapter. Sorry it wasn't more exciting. But you can't have all action and suspense. Sometimes you need to build the plot, and I've found that near the beginning of the story is usually a good place to do that. Now that the ground work is laid, the next few chapters should see a steady build in the action and suspense departments though. Hope you continue to enjoy. And, as always, reviews are appreciated. ;)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Alright, Lila, you're up to bat again. ;p

To batty: Yes, I've FINALLY started in on the sequel. ;p Thanks for the review. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter and hope you have as much fun with the rest.


	3. Malachor V

**Chapter 3: Malachor V**

**AN:** Sorry about the longer wait than usual. I took my annual family vacation last week. I was planning to work on this the week before, get it all ready and post last Friday before I left. Unfortunately, I came down with the flue and, between that and preparations for the vacation, was unable to work on this that week either. :( But I did make this one of my first priorities upon returning home. Anyway, sorry about the delay, hope you enjoy the new chapter though.

* * *

It took thirty-nine galactic hours, more than two dozen Pazaak games with Pip, four 'chick-flick' holo-recordings with Romie and three lightsabers sparring rounds with her master, but the Andromeda Eagle finally arrived at its destination without incident. And after, the prolonged space travel, Seras - who'd never much carried for the idea of zipping through space with nothing between you and the black but a six-inch, durasteel frame and emergency force fields that might or might not kick in when needed - could hardly wait to step out onto the surface of a solid planet once more. At least that's how she felt until she saw the planet she'd be stepping foot on.

"That's where we're going?" the young, former Jedi exclaimed with a hint of trepidation.

The 'planet' looked more like an exceptionally large asteroid than anything else... an exceptionally large asteroid with hundred mile craters and green lightning storms that spanned enough of the surface to be visible from orbit.

"Man, if I owned this place and Hell, I'd rent this place out and live in Hell," Pip commented as the ship descended through the atmosphere.

"Malachor V is a Sith world, and it's appearance shows it for what it is - a harsh, unforgiving place with barely contained dark powers. Only the strong can survive... and rule here. They are sharpened by the adversities found in places like this, while the weak are ground up and scattered by the wind."

Seras crossed her arms and let out a little huff. Jungle moons and deadly asteroids: why didn't evil organizations ever have plots that involved places with warm water and long, sandy beaches?

The ship landed and Seras found the surface of the planet to be just as unpleasant as it looked from orbit. Her boots sunk at least an inch into the grey dust that covered the ground wherever she stepped, which made her doubt her footing more than once, and the wind randomly kicked up more of the dust, making it necessary for her to wrap a small piece of cloth around her face to prevent the unknown particles from entering her airways. The crackle, flash and boom of the lightning storms were a constant companion, and the air around her felt unnaturally chilled. The former Jedi wondered how anything could live in such a place, and she found herself wishing that Sir Integra had only tasked Alucard with the scouting mission and left her free to stay behind and guard the ship with Pip.

Seras cast a brief look back at the distant metal hull, then she turned to her side and caught sight of her master. His face wasn't covered. His boots remained inexplicably free of the planet's dust, and his expression was one akin to appreciation and respect. Seras thought that she might've caught a hint of nostalgia as well, though she couldn't be certain.

Alucard's words echoed in his apprentice's mind_: 'Only the strong can survive such a place ... the weak are ground up and scattered.' _Seras was determined not to be 'weak'; she'd survived too much to let a planet break her will. And so the former Jedi put thoughts of the relative comfort the ship offered out of her mind. She clenched her jaw and forged ahead without a second look back. And, off to Seras's right, the side of Alucard's lip that faced away from his apprentice curled upwards in approval.

The two crossed the wasteland together, scaling jagged cliffs and sidestepping lightning strikes. They continued on until they could hear the roar of thrusters overhead and, looking up, spied a small, weathered transport descending through the air. Upon catching sight of the ship, Alucard abruptly changed direction to go meet it.

"Come on, Apprentice," the Sith master called back. "I sense a Force-user on that ship. Time for a little... interrogation," he continued, his tone more expectant than Seras would've liked.

Regardless, the apprentice fell in step behind her master as they both made their way to the ship which had landed nearby.

The ship was still powered up when the pair reached it, and Seras headed for the loading ramp. Her master hung back and looked around suspiciously. Then there was a flash of yellow and the telltale sound of a lightsaber being ignited. In the same instant, a vengeful form leapt at the larger Sith from the top of a nearby cliff. It was a well executed ambush and succeeded in throwing Seras off temporarily. Her master, however, seemed to have sensed it coming, and the attacker froze halfway to the ground.

Alucard's arm was stretched out, and though there was no direct contact, he still held their attacker in mid-air, manipulating the dark side to constrict her airway. "Not a bad trap, but you need to work a little more on masking your presence." The captured POW glided closer to the imposing Sith, and Alucard continued, "Now, let us discuss the security systems of your base."

"G-Gorram Sith," the choked captive managed to rasp. "You already infiltrated our academy once, and, by Force, I'll not help you get back in."

"No, wait, put her down!" Seras exclaimed. Her master turned an angry glare on her in response, causing the apprentice to knit her fingers together and add a subdued, "please?" to her previous order, transforming it into a request. Pacified, the monstrous Sith opened his hand and let his prisoner drop to the dust covered ground.

She gasped for breath and then coughed at the dust that came along with the new burst of air. The coughing continued for a few seconds, and then the woman looked up at the one who'd interceded on her behalf. And recognition sparked in the former's face. "Seras?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

"Hello, Master Heinkel," Seras replied with a happy smile.

Heinkel Wolfe had been one of the youngest Jedi Masters during Seras's training at the academy on Nebulon III. Perhaps because of her age, she'd also been one of Seras's most understanding instructors and had helped counsel the youngling on how to avoid giving into hate, help she very much needed after seeing the murder of her parents and the rape of her dead mother's body. Heinkel, more than any other master at the academy, had taught the troubled youth how to use her gifts to protect others... instead of simply seeking vengeance for her family. And now, on a Sith world on the outer edge of the galactic rim, circumstances... or perhaps fate had reunited the two.

"I never thought you'd join the Sith, not after what they did to your parents," Heinkel grumbled as she rose to her feet.

"Not all Sith are like that," Seras replied. "This one saved me," she continued, motioning towards Alucard.

"Indeed? Saved you so you could provide information that would help his gang break into your old academy and abduct children," Heinkel responded.

"No," Seras defended. "We're not with them. We're here to help."

Heinkel huffed in disbelief. "The Sith don't 'help' anyone but themselves."

Seras opened her mouth to counter, but was surprised to hear her master agree with the Jedi. "Quite right, Jedi. Perhaps, my apprentice is here to help... but she's still just a fledgling Sith. Me, I'm here because this place offers the promise of war, a chance to pay these insignificant whelps back for attacking my master. I'm here for the blood, the death, and that look of abject fear that comes as the light of life drains from the eyes of those who would dare to challenge my master and me! Oh, it will be glorious," the monster cooed.

Heinkel just rolled her eyes at the Sith's overly dramatic monolog, but at least that explanation was one she could believe. "Well then, perhaps we _can_ 'help' each other out after all," she suggested, much to Seras's shock, "assuming you have no designs on the younglings." She looked at Seras for confirmation, and the strawberry-blonde nodded.

Alucard grunted. "We couldn't care less what happens to your snot nosed younglings, and since you don't have any useful information, I couldn't care less what happens to you either. Follow us if you want, but stay out of my way... or I'll cut you down myself. We've already wasted enough time on you." And with that the Sith started moving away from the landing site. Seras and Heinkel both followed, but they hung back far enough so that the Jedi felt confident she could whisper to her former pupil without being overheard.

"Clearly your 'master' is nothing like the other Sith we've encountered," the woman said sarcastically.

"You don't know him," Seras defended. "Granted, he may not be one of the 'good guys'... but he hasn't become a slave to the dark side either. He's saved my life - more than once - and he's completely devoted to his master and her organization, which is a peacekeeping force."

Heinkel shook her head sadly, "Poor Child, the Sith are never devoted to their masters. They only await the opportune moment to strike at them. Apprentice kills master, or master kills apprentice; all Sith relationships end in death. And as for 'saving' you, mark my words, if he did indeed save you, he did not do so out of some altruistic motivation. He did so because - somehow - it served his own ends."

"You don't know him," Seras steadfastly insisted, even still her eyes held a small speck of doubt that had not been there a moment ago.

Her old mentor was wrong. Seras knew for a fact that her current master was more powerful than his master, and yet he still served her. True he'd refused to explain exactly why the onetime Seras had asked him about it. But it was obvious from their interactions that Alucard held a great amount of respect for his master, despite the fact that he was unquestionably more powerful than she. This was not a-typical Sith behavior, and if her master's relationship with his own master was so different from conventional Sith relationships, why couldn't Seras's relationship with him be just as different? Yes, Heinkel was wrong. She had to be... didn't she?

"Seras, I can see that there is still good in you. If you are to ever take anything I've said to heart, let it be this: get out, get out while you still can," the Jedi warned in a whisper.

But Seras wouldn't hear it. "He's different; he is."

And Heinkel just shook her head again and let the subject drop.

The three continued on in relative silence for another two hours, then Alucard abruptly stopped in front of a hallowed out cave admits tall, stone spires. "This is it."

"The entrance to the Trayus Academy?" Seras replied.

"The backdoor entrance, yes," her master clarified. "A powerful force-field protects the main entrance. Nothing short of a capital ship's cannons would be able to penetrate it. No one's getting in through the front unless the people within want them to. Luckily, we have no need to mount a frontal assault."

"How do you know all this?" Heinkel asked suspiciously.

The Sith grinned. This place was once my home... a long time ago. I know every single nock and cranny in it.. Like a man and his woman."

Heinkel's face scrunched up. "Ew, I did _not_ need to hear that."

Alucard just laughed as he led the two women inside.

The entrance opened up to a large chasm, which eventually narrowed into a corridor which split into three different paths. "There's an ancient terminal at the end of each path," Alucard informed. "The three terminals are linked to three locks on the back entrance. A pass-code must be entered into each, to access the academy's back door. But the codes don't need to be entered simultaneously. So we can stay together... or split up. The choice is yours," the Sith continued, looking at his apprentice.

Seras thought for a moment. They'd be able to move more quickly if they split up, but they'd also be more vulnerable. They'd be safer if they all stuck together, but they'd lose quite a bit of time backtracking through each passageway. And speed was of the essence. Integra would be expecting a full report when she arrived. More importantly, every second they delayed was another second the younglings were left in the 'care' of their captors. "We'll be able to cover more ground if we split up."

Alucard nodded. "Then it is to be as it once was."

Seras puzzled over that statement for a second or two before deciding that it must have been a reference to something from the last time her master was here and thus not a comment she was expected to understand.

"What's the pass-code?" Heinkel asked.

"The Code of the Sith. You know it?"

"Yes," the Jedi replied with mild revulsion.

"Good, then perhaps you are not entirely useless after all." And with that very left-handed compliment, Alucard began to make his way towards the center passageway. But he paused as he reached it, and looked back at his apprentice. "If whoever's running this place now knows anything about the academy, there'll be guards or traps... perhaps both awaiting us. Take care, Apprentice."

"Of course," Seras replied and then fixed a triumphant look on the other woman in their party.

Heinkel merely sighed and entered her passageway without comment.

* * *

I managed to work in a few more references for you all. See how many you can spot. ;)

Well, now we've reached the end of the third chapter. A little on the short side, but hopefully you all enjoyed it more than the second. With a little luck the next one will be up on schedule, in about two weeks. Hope you continue to enjoy. And, as always, reviews are appreciated. ;)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Alright, Lila, the ball's in your court once more. ;p


	4. Gambling Man

**Chapter 4: Gambling Man**

**AN:** Once again, sorry about the extra wait time. One of my classes is giving me a little trouble. I'm still doing well in it, but the course textbook was either written by illiterates... or written in another language and poorly translated (I suspect the former). It's littered with typos, confusing wording, and occasionally just flat out incorrect information. I hate it. Buuuuut, I've still got to use it. Anyway, thanks to that textbook and a few other real life hassles, I've had less time for writing than expected. :( However, the class is nearing completion and real progress is starting to be made in other areas as well. :) So, hopefully, the next chapter will be out on time. :/

* * *

Navigating the caverns that led to the academy's ancient computer had proven to be far easier than expected. Despite her master's warning, Seras had yet to encounter any serious resistance. There'd been a couple of silver droids patrolling the area immediately following where Seras's path had diverged from the others, and she'd dispatched both sentries without incident. Since then, the former Jedi had yet to encounter anything more than dirt, rocks, and the occasional spider as she traversed the caverns.

The situation changed, however, as Seras turned a corner to enter yet another cavern. This new cavern was larger than most of the preceding ones. The walls were a strange mixture, raw cavern rock giving way to ancient, carved stone. Seras guessed that since the area was taking on a more refined appearance, she was nearing her destination, but one thing stood... or rather sat in her way. In the center of the cavern rested a small table, a couple of chairs, and one dandy looking man holding a Pazaak deck.

Seras could sense the Force, dark and tainted, coming off from this man like the foul stench that encircled an unwashed nerf herder. She knew instantly that the man was a Sith, a full-fledged Sith, and that made her blood run cold. Seras could no longer call upon the Force herself, and she'd yet to learn how to siphon it from others. She could 'borrow' the energy that flowed in and out of them like the tide's constant rise and fall, but doing so had the side effect of refining that energy and increasing the abilities of whomever she was borrowing it from. Cut off from allies, the tactic would do her little good in a confrontation.

She was alone with this Sith, and without the power of the Force to call on for aid. However, she was not defenseless. She still had her lightsaber, a lightsaber enhanced with the Heart of the Guardian focusing crystal. She would not go down without a fight.

There was a flash of bronze as Seras ignited her weapon, and the former Jedi took comfort in the familiar hum which resounded from it. She lifted it and slid into a defensive stance, preparing herself for the battle to come. Yet, to Seras's surprise, the Sith did not rise from his seat. He merely whistled instead.

"Nice," the man commented as his head rose and his onyx eyes and groomed mustache suddenly became visible beneath the rim of his white hat.

Seras stared hard at the man as if he'd insulted her, her expression and conveying revulsion.

The man let out a single dry huff. "No, Poppet," he explained," I was referring to one of your other... assets: your weapon to be specific." Seras looked somewhat placated by the man's response. "I could use a weapon like that. I... 'lost' my own lightsaber several months back, and have had trouble finding suitable parts to create another. I don't suppose I could convince you to part with yours?"

"Sure," Seras replied sarcastically. "Just come on over here. I'd be happy to 'give' it to you."

"Have you fallen so far that you'd murder someone who's unarmed?" the man in the immaculate, white suit asked, to the surprise of the cavern's other occupant. "You are _his_ apprentice, are you not? The former Jedi? I'm surprised that he's managed to turn you so quickly," the man continued, a devilish grin upon his lips.

"I... No... I'm not," Seras stammered in her defense. She sighed. "Just... just stay out of my way, and you'll be fine," she responded though her better judgment told her that the Sith was up to something.

"I could do that... or, I _could_ help you out."

"Help me out?"

"You are here for the kids, the 'younglings', are you not?" the man answered coyly, and suddenly Seras became very interested in what he had to say, though she did her best to mask this interest. She failed - miserably. "Ah, I thought as much. Here to save the little ones, aren't ya'? Well, it just so happens I know where they're being kept, as well as the pass-codes to get you in and them out."

"And?" Seras replied. She'd dropped the pretense of disinterest, but her tone still carried an obvious note of distrust and suspicion.

"And now we both have something the other wants."

"Something I suspect neither of us is willing to relinquish to the other."

The man chuckled. "Quite right, quite right. Fortunately, there is a way that either one of us may yet come away from this meeting with both." He paused and let his words hang heavy in the air for a second or two. Then, the man raised the Pazaak deck. "You play?"

Seras eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you won't cheat... and that you'll keep your end of the deal."

"Madam, you have my word as a gentleman."

"No good," the girl in the black apprentices robe replied. "I've known too many 'gentlemen'."

"Then I shall swear upon the cards and what they represent, luck, the only true deciding factor in existence, who's favor every mortal seeks to survive and advance his status. I will abide by the rules of the game... and the wager we place upon it."

The words to this second offering were hardly more encouraging than the first. If the man was a cheat and a liar, he could swear an oath to anything and still cheat and lie. Promises were only as good as the person giving them, even still... there was something about the way this second oath was delivered, the earnest tone, the fervent eyes. Seras still would've preferred something more solid, but in the absence of anything else and with the lives of children hanging in the balance she took what she could get.

The former Jedi switched off her lightsaber and approached the table. "My lightsaber against the youngling's whereabouts and the codes to where they're being held?" The man nodded in agreement. And Seras exhaled sharply. "Fine, deal the cards."

* * *

Alucard jammed his lightsaber through the torso of a silver plated droid as he used the force to lift another from the ground. He shot a bolt of lightning into the second and tossed it away, like garbage. It flew into a small group of others and exploded upon impact. Shards of metal flew into the air, slicing the droids around impact point like a hundred tinny daggers and embedding themselves deeply into hard metal. Two more droids tried to flank the ancient Sith. He sighed as they opened fire, and he, in turn, simply reflected the blaster bolts back at them. This was boring. Fragging such inept creations gave him no pleasure, and he found himself longing for something more... stimulating.

Just then, the ancient Sith sensed a speeding projectile hurtling towards him. He turned and positioned his lightsaber to block the shot... only to find that it was not a blaster bolt, but rather a hard-matter shell. It exploded upon contact with his lightsaber, sending out shrapnel that tore his shoulder and right side to pieces. The monster laughed as his red mist oozed back into place, regenerating the damage. Now this was more like it.

"Tinker tailor, soldier, sailor. My bullets punish all without distinction," a feminine voice sing-songed from where the shot had come from, and Alucard grinned. He was going to enjoy this.

* * *

Seras stared down at an eighteen point card combination. Her opponent had fifteen... and one card left in his hand. Seras had no hand cards left, and they'd both won one round of the game. Chance favored her, but only slightly.

There was no way for Seras to know the value of the last card her opponent was holding, but with five hand card values, numbered one through six, plus negative cards that would take away rather than add to her opponent's total, odds where that whatever that card was, it would either put him over the twenty point limit (causing him to bust), not added enough to his combo to beat her, or further decrease the value of his card combination. Of course, he could always pull a card from the randomized deck, but with nine deck card values, numbered one through ten, that too was likely to bust him.

On the other hand, fifteen was a pretty common card combination value, so many Pazaak players tried to keep a five in their hand just in case. And if her opponent's last card was indeed a five, that meant he could play it, bring his total up to twenty and stand. And then the only way she could possibly win would be to hit on eighteen and pray for either a two or two ones, an unlikely combination.

"You've played well... but I'm afraid the game is over," the man in the white suit said as he played the last card in his hand. It was a five, just as Seras had feared.

"Sith's blood!" the former Jedi exclaimed without paying any thought to the swear.

Her opponent smiled. "You gamble like a professional, swear like one too... and I've been told you have some serious potential when it comes to fighting. Any interest in switching masters?"

Briefly, Seras wondered who had told the 'gentleman' about her combat 'potential'. She couldn't remember her and her master leaving many of their enemies alive to relay such information. But, after a moment's pondering, Seras put such questions out of her mind... for now. Her Jedi masters had always instructed her to concentrate on the task at hand, and though she was no longer a member of the Order, she still considered such instruction to be sound advice.

"None what-so-ever," Seras replied in a sweet tone that belied the rejection. "And the game isn't over yet." So saying, Seras drew a card from the deck and held it up. She exhaled in relief as she saw the value and then, with a smirk, added it to her pile. "Two for twenty. I believe that makes us even."

"Quite so, quite so. The hand is a push." The man was still smiling and that struck Seras as somewhat strange, considering his odds of winning just decreased from an almost certainty to a fifty/fifty split. "And now," the man continued as he added his deck cards back into the pile, "the real game begins, eh?"

"The real game?"

"Yes," the man hissed with pleasure. "The score is tied, and both of our hands have been exhausted. Now the game is totally in the hands of Lady Luck. She will choose who to bestow her favor upon, who to crown king and who to cast away from the throne." The man inhaled deeply. "Can you smell that? That is the scent of fate, of destiny!"

"O-k-a-y," Seras replied slowly. Were all Sith possessed of some singular obsession? Her master's was combat, and it seemed this man's was chance. Funny, she's always been told that the Sith were obsessed only with power, yet her own experiences weren't bearing that out very well.

Her opponent seemed to come down from his euphoric high as soon as she drew her first card from the deck. He was wholly absorbed by the game once more as soon as the next round began.

Seras's first card was a ten. Her opponent drew an eight. Seras drew a three, and the man across from her drew a five. They were tied once more. Seras drew again: a four. That brought her total up to seventeen. The former Jedi grimaced. She had to stay; she just had to. The odds were more than two to one that she'd bust if she drew again, and after bucking - and beating - those odds last time, she knew that the chances of beating them again were remote. So, she stood while her opponent drew. He got a three, bringing his total up to sixteen. She still had him beat by one point, and if he was to have a shot at winning, he'd have to draw again.

Seras bit her lip. She had never been so tense playing a game of Pazaak before. But this time, she wasn't playing for fun. Lives were on the line, and they all depended on this next draw. Her opponent reached for the card that would either beat her, bust him... or cause the whole cycle to repeat yet again. A five: the gentleman in the white suit drew a five, bringing his total card value up to twenty-one. He'd busted.

And Seras, relieved, excited and quite forgetting herself threw her hands up into the air. "Yes!" she cried.

Her opponent nodded. "Seems Lady Luck favors you today. The children are being kept in the animal pins... at least until the ceremony begins. You'll find them if you take the first corridor that branches to the left after you enter through the academy's back door. Follow it until it splits, then turn right. The animal pins are the next room on the right."

"Ceremony?" Seras questioned.

"It's not important. You see, I'm afraid I can't let you leave this room alive, not with the information you've won. If it was ever discovered that I was the one to provide it... well, my allies are not the forgiving sort. So you see, I really have no choice but to kill you. Dreadfully sorry, Poppet."

"Now, wait a minute," Seras responded. "We had a deal."

"So we did, Poppet: A deal for the location of the younglings, which I've already given you, and the codes to where they're being kept, which are five, zero, one, three. You see safe passage was never a condition of our arrangement. Perhaps you should've been more careful in the wager you selected." And with that, the man waved his hand and summoned the Pazaak cards from the table. They floated around him, like some kind of supernatural shield. Then lightning shot out of the man's finger tips, into one of the cards and it went sailing through the air.

Seras's lightsaber was already back in her hands as she ignited it once more and blocked the projectile. Then three more shot out at her. She blocked the first two, targeted at her head and heart respectively, but she missed the third. Luckily, it flew low and struck the stone floor instead of hitting her. However, the close proximity of the strike knocked her off balance.

She fell as five more cards swirled about her adversary's head. They came at her, charged with yet more Darkside lightning. The former Jedi rolled, narrowly avoiding the deadly playing cards, and scrambled to her feet. She charged the man in white, deflecting cards as she ran, and struck at him. But the cards moved to block her strike. The combination of the lightsabers energy together with that of the charged cards, created a small explosion which knocked both combatants back from each other.

For just a moment, the dancing, seemingly weightless cards fell to the ground, and the man was vulnerable. But by the time Seras recovered from the explosion, so had her enemy. Seras realized that without her connection to the Force she was outmatched. Forced to rely only on her own reflexes, sooner or later she'd slip up, and that would be the end of it. So, she did the only thing she could. She ran.

She was already past her opponent, closer to the carved archway that led deeper into the Sith ruin. She didn't need to beat the gambling man, only outrun him. Seras moved as fast as she could, dashing down one corridor and then the next as cards from the charged Pazaak deck whipped around her, striking and sparking the carved stone walls and floor. She turned left, then right, then left again. Then she tripped some ancient device and suddenly she was sealed in a large, open, storage room of some sort. Seras tried her lightsaber on the door, and then the walls, but a thin energy field prevented her from making contact with either one. She heard more cards clatter in the corridor connected to the room as her adversary also tried to break through... and had no more luck than she had.

She couldn't get out, and he couldn't get in. It was another 'push'.

* * *

I managed to work in a few more references for you all. See how many you can spot. ;)

Well, now we've reached the end of the forth chapter. A little longer than the third and, hopefully, just as enjoyable. And assuming things go as expected - or close to expected - I should have the next one up for you all in about two weeks. Hope you continue to enjoy. And, as always, reviews are appreciated. ;)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Alright, Lila, I ran my leg of the marathon. It's your turn once again. ;p


	5. Codes and Uneasy Alliances

**Chapter 5: Codes and Uneasy Alliances**

**AN:** I wasn't able to work in as many references as usual, but there's still a couple for you guys and gals. ;)

* * *

"Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free." Heinkel entered the words into the ancient computer counsel fully expecting the door before her to instantly open up. It didn't. And to her surprise, as she turned back to the terminal, she saw it displaying a new question.

"According to the precepts of the code, is victory - under any circumstance - desirable?" Below the question rested two boxes: a "yes" and a "no".

Obviously Heinkel was being tested on more than simple rote memorization of the Sith Code. The computer wanted to make sure she understood it as well. All of Heinkel's Jedi training and experience told her that the answer to this new question should be a "yes". The Sith valued victory and conquest over everything. They'd destroy half the galaxy without a second thought if it meant that they could rule over the half that remained. Yet, the question seemed deceptively easy. This question was the key - or at least one of the keys - to unlocking an ancient and undoubtedly powerful Sith academy. It couldn't be _that_ easy; it had to be a trick. And so, despite what all her training and experience told her, Heinkel selected the "no" option.

Instantly there was a rumbling deep underground, and the door before her opened up, clearing the way to a new corridor which led downward at a forty-five degree angle. Then the computer terminal wined out a short, high pitched sound, and suddenly all was silent. The counsel went dark, and only the lights on the wall remained, their almost eerie green glow beckoning her deeper into the belly of the beast.

The Jedi master was beginning to doubt her entry. The door before her had opened, which seemed an encouragement. But she thought it strange the computer she'd entered the information into had shut itself down and would accept no further commands or input. Perhaps she'd failed, and the recently opened door would not lead her into the enemy's academy. Perhaps it was a trap that would only lead to her death, punishment for her failure. After all, the Sith were not known to be a forgiving bunch.

But whatever the new corridor led to she had to traverse it. She would gain nothing by going backwards, and the Jedi had more to concern herself with than her own life. The lives of children hung in the balance, her charges, her responsibility. She would not fail them. So the Jedi master touched off her lightsaber and slowly, cautiously proceeded down the corridor.

Heinkel's concerns about a trap proved to be unfounded. The corridor opened up into a small room where she found the Sith already waiting. He was leaning against a small indentation in the stone walls and acknowledged her presence with a half nod, but he made no comment. Beside him was a giant door that looked both older and grander than the ones the Jedi had previously encountered within the labyrinth of tunnels that led to the academy's back entrance.

The door was black, a black which seemed less a color and more a total absence of light, like the starless sectors of space. In fact the only reason she could tell it was a door at all, and not some black abyss waiting to swallow her up, was because of the shimmering golden trim around it and the odd symbols, of the same material, that were spaced evenly across the front of it. To the eyes this luminescent gold seemed to simply hang, eternally suspended against a starless night. The visual effect was as intimidating as it was beautiful.

However, Heinkel's words belied her true impression of the academy entrance. "A little ostentatious for a door," she commented aloud.

"It's more than a door," the Sith replied. "It is a portal through which those that pass are made to understand the dark mysteries of the galaxy."

"Whatever," Heinkel replied dismissively as her eyes began to stray from the academy entrance to take in more of her surroundings. Three lights were affixed above the door, two of which showed green illumination, the other red. And that, plus Seras's absence from the small open area, told Heinkel that her old friend had not yet opened her lock to the academy entrance.

"Seras isn't here?"

"She will be."

"Don't you think we should go see if she needs any help?" the Jedi prompted the Sith.

"No," he replied simply.

"Well I do," Heinkel retorted.

"You can _think_ whatever you want. But she is my apprentice and I will decide what's best for her."

"Well you can _decide_ what you want, but _I'm_ not just going to sit here and wait," the Jedi snapped back as she turned to the three corridors that led to the small chamber her and the Sith were now in. If Seras had yet to open her lock, then the other end of her corridor was likely still sealed as well, but Heinkel figured she could back track down her path to where the three had split and so come around from behind. Her path was already cleared of all opposition and at top speed she could run it in less than fifteen minutes. Assuming Seras had been diligent in clearing her path as she went, it would then take even less time for the Jedi to catch up to her.

"No, you're not," Alucard growled as he pushed off of the wall and raised himself to his full height. "My apprentice; my decision."

"Go to Hell," the Jedi replied as she started towards the corridor.

Alucard reached his arm out towards her, closed his hand into a fist and used the force to whip the Jedi back.

Heinkel flipped and used her feet to push off of the dark door as she collided with it. She rebounded with her lightsaber already drawn and ready. It didn't do her any good.

Raising his right arm, finger now spread into a claw like shape, Alucard once again suspended the Jedi in mid air, just as he'd done when they'd first met. He pulled his fingers closer to each other, choking the woman slightly and drew her closer to him. "Don't try it, Jedi. I'm more powerful than you can imagine."

"A boast made by many Sith," Heinkel rasped.

"True. But in my case, it's no simple boast," Alucard replied his eyes seeming to light up for a split second. "Still, you have fire. It would be a waste to kill you."

"Not to mention that seeing my dead body might just show your 'apprentice' what you really are."

Alucard grinned. "Show her what I really am? Interesting choice of words." He chuckled. "But what makes you think I'd leave a body to find?"

"Bastard! She could be hurt, trapped... even dying. And you won't do a thing to help her."

"She's alive," Alucard replied, "and safe enough."

"How could you pos-"

Alucard's grip tightened, choking off the rest of Heinkel's reply. "And she doesn't need to be coddled. That mindset is what makes your kind so weak. She needs to learn to stand on her own feet, and overcome her problems herself. ... She will not always have others to lean on."

Alucard's tone had shifted. His voice sounded far off somehow, the anger having been replaced by contemplative undertones, and for a moment Heinkel wondered if he were sincerely making an effort to convince her that he was doing the right thing by his apprentice, rather than simply droning on because he was too in-love with the sound of his own voice. Her eyes noticeably widened.

Alucard made no indication of caring. Instead he simply drew the Jedi closer to him. "And you will not interfere," he cooed in a tone that made Heinkel's blood run cold. She was barely an inch from the monster now, as he slowly - almost purposefully - began to inhale. And suddenly the Jedi felt her power and strength weakening, as if the Sith was somehow sucking it from her. Her mind grew foggy as her eye lids became impossibly heavy. They drifted shut, and consciousness abandoned her body.

"Sleep, Jedi," Alucard commented as he lowered her body to the cold floor. "Sleep and remember nothing."

* * *

As Alucard and Heinkel argued over Seras, the former Jedi sought a way to escape her cage. An energy field may have surrounded the door and walls, but Seras had succeeded in tracking that field's energy flow, a long tedious process that involved repeatedly thrusting her lightsaber against the field every six inches until she'd plotted the local resistance level of the opposing energy. The areas with the strongest resistance, those that her lightsaber could barely effect at all, were where the emitters were embedded in the walls. And, with this knowledge, a fairly accurate picture of the field's layout formed in the girl's mind. If she could takeout one of the embedded energy hubs, she could disable an entire section of the field.

The problem was that she had no ready means of taking out a hub. If only she still had her command of the Force... The room she was in was obviously some kind of machine workshop, or at least that was the last thing it had been used as. Large mechanical scanning, pressing and shaping devices littered the area, devices that Seras guessed were heavy enough that if hurled with sufficient force they could temporarily overcome the energy barrier and pulverize one of the field's hubs. If Seras could still use the Force, escape would not be difficult. She could levitate one of the machines, hurl it at a hub, and be free in a matter of seconds. But she didn't have the Force.

No, all she had was her lightsaber, the clothes on her back... and a room filled with old junk. Even still, Seras was not the type to give up. Perhaps she might yet find something among the old machines that she could utilize to effect an escape? The former Jedi began her inspection.

She was surprised to find an old droid still sealed within one of the scanning machines. In fact she was so surprised that her first reaction upon seeing the automation was to shriek in shock, a reaction somewhat justified by the droid's close resemblance to the silver 'foot soldiers' that seemed to make up the bulk of their enemy's forces. The only externally visible difference between those droids and this one was that the latter's frame was a rusted red color instead of polished silver... well that plus the fact that this latest find wasn't trying to blast her head off.

It wasn't active. No, instead this droid - which Seras guessed to be an older model of what their mysterious enemy had used to attack their headquarters - was old, forgotten, powered down, and completely inanimate. Though the dark light sockets that made up its eyes did somehow seem hauntingly creepy to the young woman, she assured herself that she had nothing to fear from this immobile relic. Maybe she could even use some of its parts?

Seras began to strip away the droid's outer panels and discovered to her surprise that the inner workings were not only still in good shape, but they were assembled with a kind of efficiency and elegance that she'd never seen in droid construction before. The wiring was a mess, as it appeared that a number of people had clumsily tried to make repairs or 'improvements' to the droid's basic operating functions over a period of several years. But the hardware mechanics themselves were a triumph of both form and function.

"Hmmmm," Seras mused aloud, "I don't know who made you buddy, but, whoever it was, they definitely knew what they were doing. In fact, if your power cells weren't drained, you might still be functional. Wait a minute... is that a... You've got a gravity generator beam?" the former Jedi exclaimed.

It seemed her finicky luck was on the upswing once more. If she could power up that devise, she could use it to send one of the large pieces of machinery flying just as well as if she were still connected to the Force. She felt like hugging the old piece of metal. Instead she decided to spend her time a bit more productively and tried to figure out a way to remove the grav beam. It was an add on utility, and thus there had to be some way to get it out.

Seras's efforts proved to be in vain however. She lacked the physical strength necessary to wrench the device free of its housing within the droid's left arm, and the clamps holding it in place lacked a manual override. They would not retract without power.

"Sith's blood! Why can't anything ever go smooth?" It was then that Seras decided she might be making things harder on herself than was necessary. With the plating off the droid's arm she could access the grav beam's power core without any serious hindrance, and the arm was easy enough to move around. She'd power up the device and simply aim the arm where she wanted the beam to go.

Seras removed the plates covering her lightsaber's inner workings and extracted one of the power cells. Then she scavenged a couple of long wires from the scanning device, stripped them with her teeth and connected them to the grav beam's positive and negative terminals. Next the former Jedi borrowed a phase converter from the old scanning device and hooked the two long wires into it. Finally she connected the power cell she'd extracted from her lightsaber to the phase converter and aimed the arm at the largest piece of machinery she could find. The Jedi bit her lip as she attached the last wire to complete the circuit and prayed that the power cell's amps were close enough to what the grav beam was designed to handle that the device's components wouldn't fry before she could use it.

"Annoyed Exclamation: Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty meatbag," a synthesized voice droned in monotone, once more startling the girl, who was currently cheek to cheek with the old droid.

All at once Seras looked over, saw the two beads of red light staring back at her, panicked, shrieked again, tried to move away, tripped and fell, and ended up biting down on her lip hard enough to draw a small stream of blood.

The machine looked around the room and then down at the fallen former Jedi. "Puzzled Query: What is this place, and why are we here?"

"I- ... You're not going to try to kill me?"

"Encouraging Response: If I intended to kill you, you'd already be dead." The droid took a step towards the girl and heard a metallic clank as he did so. He looked down to find that that clank was caused by his foot colliding with his discarded chest plate. The droid's head tilted to the side for a split second then he began to examine himself. "Shocked Exclamation: By the Maker, I'm naked!" The droid's optics drifted back towards the human female. "Accusatory Query: Just what were you doing to me, Meatbag?"

"Accusatory?" Seras repeated as her brain analyzed the droid's reaction. "What? No. Ewwwww!" Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Believe me, I wasn't doing anything like... like that."

"Implied Threat: I should hope not, Meatbag."

"Would you please stop calling me that?"

"Query: Stop calling you what, Meatbag?"

"That: 'meatbag'."

"Answer: I'm afraid not. Someone's programmed me to refer to organics as 'meatbags'."

"What? Why? Who?"

"Explanation: One of my previous masters found the term amusing. Extended Explanation: Besides it does suit your kind. You have all these squishy parts. And all that water... How the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad, I have no idea."

Seras stared at the strange droid, not quite sure what to make of it. "Well... at least you're not shooting at me like the others."

"Intrigued Query: What 'others'?"

"The other droids... like you," Seras replied, her tone unsure.

"Correction: I am a unique assassination model; there are no others."

"Ummm, yeah there are," Seras responded, "Quite a few in fact. They're just a different color and..."

"Interjection: A different color? Silver?"

"Ah, yes."

The droid suddenly slammed his fist against the scanning machine. "Enraged Exposition: Those carbine copy imitations! I destroyed their manufacturing plant and deleted all records! How could..." The droid's head then turned to examine the cylinder like machine that Seras had found him in. "Understanding Comment: A synthetics system scanner, of course. That would explain what I'm doing here... and why I was deactivated. Brooding Query: So, the pudgy one has begun manufacturing his fakers again, has he? Enraged Exclamation: Well this time I'll not only destroy his manufacturing plant and erase his records; I'll rip out his innards and shove them down the nearest incinerator shoot!"

Seras was slowly inching her hand closer to her lightsaber. She'd only removed one of the weapon's power cores. The unit would still function, and the droid was obviously unstable. There was no telling what it would do, and Seras fully intended to be prepared if it decided to attack.

Suddenly the droid's head snapped back to the former Jedi. "Query: For what purpose did you reactivate me?"

"I... Well, I wasn't really trying to reactivate you," Seras admitted. "I was trying to power up that gravity generator beam of yours so I could use it to fling one of these large machines at the wall and break out of here. Guess the energy flowed back through your systems and recharged your power core... or something."

"Intrigued Query: So you are trapped, and you need my help to escape?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Extended Query: And the silver fakers seek your destruction?"

"Oh yeah."

"Informative Response: I require your assistance as well. I must destroy these fakers. But my programming prevents me from acting on my own initiative, save in the course of self preservation. Any action I take must be in a master's best interest. And, unfortunately, that master must be an organic meatbag, such as yourself."

"Wait, are you saying you want to be my... er, droid?" Seras asked utterly puzzled by this unexpected turn of events.

"Informative Response: Negative. I'm saying I wish to destroy the silver fakers, and you might be a suitable tool to assist me in that endeavor."

"Um, I'm not sure I really want an assassination droid that views me as a tool and constantly calls me a meatbag."

"Informative Response: Were you my master, I would not be permitted to constantly reference your meatbag status. My programming requires that my current master always be referred to as 'Master'."

"Interesting bit of code, and who programmed that?"

"Dismissive Response: Some organic meatbag no doubt."

"I'm still not sure I want you for a droid."

"Annoyed Response: And I am sure that I don't want another organic meatbag as a master, especially one who stripped off my coverings while I was deactivated and began to... 'handle' my parts. But want is irrelevant. We both need each other to accomplish our objectives. You need to get out of this room, and I need to destroy the silver fakers. Our goals are compatible, and neither of us is going to be able to fulfill them without the others help."

"Proposed Offer: So, will you be my master?"

"I guess I don't really have a choice.

"Obvious Statement: Neither of us do."

"Very well, I accept your 'proposed offer'." Seras approached the droid with her hand extended. "My name is Seras Victoria, and I'll be your new master."

"Hesitant Agreement: HK47 at your service, Master." The droid looked down at the human's offered hand. "Double Entendre: I trust you'll understand if I don't wish to press your warm, squishy flesh against my cold, hard extremity."

"Aggravated Response:" Seras replied in a dead pan tone as she retracted her offered hand. "Aren't you ever going to let that go?"

* * *

Well there we have the fifth chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter should cover Seras and HK47 busting out of the room, her confronting the Dandy Man again, and meeting back up with Alucard and Heinkel.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.


	6. Busting Out

**Chapter 6: Busting Out**

**AN:** Sorry about being a week late... again. :p I'm afraid that with the Christmas season upon us, I was just busier than I expected to be last weekend. :( But I finally got the DandyVSeras&HK fight done. :) Hope it was worth the wait. ;)

* * *

The scanning machine, the source of HK 47's newest set of carbon copies, made a satisfying crash as it slammed into the stone wall. "Exclamation: Take that you tin plated, identity stripping abomination!" the droid droned in triumph as another white beam of energy shot out from his arm, to lift the machine once more. "Amendment: And that!" Another crashing sound proceeded a long, low tone, high pitched buzz; and the energy field surrounding the room suddenly fizzled away.

Seras ran to the door and used her lightsaber to slice an opening through the old stone as a third crashing sound split the air somewhere behind her. The former Jedi rolled her eyes. Why did she always get the violent, unstable ones?

She finished cutting out the small, stone circle and then solder slammed it, causing the thin slab to fall away from the rest of the door. Seras stepped through and found the dandy-looking Sith still waiting for her.

"It's about time you find a way out of there. I was beginning to think I'd have to come in after you," he commented.

Seras's only response was to raise her blade and drop into a battle stance.

"That eager, are you?" The man chuckled. "Well then, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?" And with a wave of his hand the inanimate Pazaak deck sprang to life once more.

Two electrified cards arced out at Seras. She rolled to her right to avoid them, then rose and rushed the Sith. She reached him without trouble, but once again the man's 'magic' Pazaak deck swirled around him, forming a shield the former Jedi's strikes could not penetrate.

Ah, but far from another push, this time the girl had a golden plus/minus one card up her sleeve. She had a new ally to tip the scales in her favor. But as Seras launched into a flurry of quick strikes against her enemy's defenses, she heard another loud crashing sound in the room she'd just exited. And with a startled expression, the girl suddenly realized that, rather than backing her up in her fight against the Sith master, her new 'ally' was still reeking vengeance on the scanning machine that had invasively copied his form.

"Osik." The former Jedi muttered the exclamation she'd often heard Integra's Mandalorians use, even though she didn't know exactly what it meant. She'd figured that being designated as the droid's master would mean that it would stay at her side during life threatening conflicts, but apparently that was too much to hope for.

With a grunt, the former Jedi rolled away from her adversary, narrowly dodging a flock of charged cards in the process. "A little help here?" she exclaimed through the hole she'd cut in the door.

"Placating Response: I'll be with you in a minute," HK 47 replied as his gravity beam held the dented scanning machine a foot in front of him. Suddenly a compartment opened up on the droid's other arm and a small device with a spray like end and a tubular body slid out to rest above the assassin's wrist. "Vengeful Exclamation: Burn, you offensive traitor to mechanical perfection. Burn!" A lava like stream shot from the droid's second utility slot, melting the scanning device and causing the droid's front to glow red hot.

"Who you talking to, Poppet?" the Sith asked as he let another burst of cards fly.

Seras ducked under one card and blocked the other two with her lightsaber. "Some demented droid, who apparently doesn't care if his master lives or dies, just so long as he gets to play around with a burned out hunk of metal," she grumbled sardonically as she retreated a few more paces before the advancing Sith.

"Well yo-" the dandy looking man's response was cut short as he was suddenly slammed by a molten slab of metal and circuit boards.

"Self-conscious Response: Master, you wound me. Were you incapable of handling yourself for a few moments so that I could have my revenge on the device that stole my identity? Obviously not, since you are still fully functional. So why begrudge me my fun?"

"It's an inanimate object!" Seras exclaimed. "It's incapable of feeling pain... or even understanding what you were doing to it or why!"

"Offended Reply: Master! What a meatbag outlook! We may be machines, but if you prick us do we not... leak? Do our transistors not buzz with anticipation over a new chance to kill? Can we not appreciate the delicate beauty of an all consuming fire? Are we not moved by-bzzzzzzzzz..." The droid suddenly seized and locked up as it was hit by a bolt of lightning from the apparently still living Sith master.

"Useless hunk of metal," the man snarled as he shuffled forward, dragging his right foot behind him. The man's right hand was extended, but his left dangled loosely from the shoulder. Various scratches and gashes adorned his previously smooth face, and a section of his robe was scorched away, revealing burnt flesh. Though not dead, the man was severely wounded from the droid's surprise attack, and despite herself Seras felt a small pang of sympathy for her injured enemy.

"Just go away. You're too hurt to fight; you must know that."

The man smiled in response, and to Seras's surprise the smile seemed both sincere and regretful. "That's not really an option, I'm afraid. If I let you go, they'll surely kill me. Failure is not tolerated amongst the Sith; it's a very kill or be killed way of life. Kind of you to offer to let me go though." The Sith slumped against the wall and used his still operable hand to summon his cards once more. "You ready, Poppet?" he asked in a genteel sort of way, once more surprising the former Jedi.

She raised her lightsaber, nodded and the battle resumed. The Sith sent a card flying at Seras, but his aim was off and it sailed right past her, embedding itself in the wall. He loosed another, but she easily blocked it. Summoning up a burst of energy, the Sith let a stream of cards fly at the former Jedi, but his aim was wide with most of them, and the rest Seras was easily able to dodge or block. But though she blocked, rolled and sidestepped, the Jedi could not bring herself to finish off her wounded opponent. She didn't really want to kill him, she just wanted him to stop trying to kill her. Yet, that was something he could not do. And so, the fight went on.

And after another minute or two, HK's systems recovered from the power surge the lightning had caused, and the droid became active once more. "Annoyed Query: Master, why aren't you attacking the meatbag?"

Seras didn't reply. She knew that she should have been attacking, that she had to end this Sith so she could meet back up with her master and rescue the captured children. Her sympathies were self indulgent and foolish. After all, despite his injuries, her enemy was still doing his best to kill her. Perhaps he felt he had no choice, but that didn't matter. She had no choice either. Lives hung in the balance, lives far more innocent than the injured Sith whose deadly cards still whipped past her head and body. And so, Seras rushed her opponent.

He saw her coming though and switched his own tactics from offensive to defensive, once again summoning up the protective shield that Seras had twice before failed to penetrate. And once again, the shield proved problematic for the former Jedi. There were less cards involved this time, and their movements were more sloppy. Gaps formed from the imprecision, but Seras's own subconscious prevented her from fully exploiting her enemy's weaknesses. Her heart wasn't in the battle any longer, and because of that, the injured Sith was still able to hold her off.

"Disappointed Comment: Must I do everything myself?" The droid raised his arm and a white beam shot from above the wrist. It slipped through one of the cracks in the Sith's defenses, and drove him back, pinning him helplessly to the wall. "Instruction: Now, Master, finish him off so we can get out of here and find those imposters."

Seras walked over to where the Sith was being held. She looked up at him, regretfully.

"Irritated Query: Master, what are you waiting for?"

"Go on, Poppet. The game had to end sometime, and it seems you're still the Lady's favorite."

Seras's lip curved into an empty, half smile; and then bronze light flashed, as she spun around with her lightsaber. Her back was to the Sith as his head fell to the floor and rolled, and she walked away without turning back to survey her damage. "Come on, let's go," the former Jedi ordered in a forced neutral tone as she passed her droid.

* * *

The third light turned from red to green and a mechanical whiling sound could be heard as the final lock was pulled from the black and gold door and the obstacle disappeared into the walls. Alucard raised his head, his oversized hat tilting towards the ceiling as he took notice of his apprentice's accomplishment. It took her a little longer than he'd expected, but she'd managed just fine, as he knew she would. The Sith master used the Force to lift himself from where he'd been resting upon the cold floor and hovered in place for a second as he dropped his legs to support him. Then he telekinetically pushed the dust that had collected off of his clothes, and by the time Seras entered the central chamber her master looked as if he'd been standing alert the whole time.

"What kept you, Jedi Girl?" he asked as Seras appeared in the room.

"Oh, psychotic gambling men with killer Pazaak decks and ancient force fields and traps: the usual," the girl quipped in reply. "What... what happened to Master Heinkel?" she continued in an alarmed tone as she caught sight of the Jedi lying in the corner.

"No idea," the Sith lied with experienced ease. "She staggered in a little while ago and collapsed in the corner."

"And you didn't check to see what was wrong?" Seras blurted out as she rushed over to her friend.

"Watch your tone, Apprentice," Alucard warned. "And she still breathes; she probably just found the Sith trial too taxing and collapsed from fatigue. The Jedi are such frail creatures after all."

"Statement: Most meatbags are," HK 47 added as he followed his master into the chamber, momentarily drawing Alucard's attention away from Seras.

"Who... what is this?" Alucard asked as he turned back towards his apprentice.

"Him? Oh, he's just some droid I found," Seras replied quickly before returning to her examination of the sleeping Jedi.

"Response: Master? 'Just some droid' you found? Such flippant disregard for my superior construction, programming and capabilities? You are a very harsh master... I rather like that."

Alucard just raised an eyebrow at the droid. Seras didn't respond to his comment either. Instead, having finished her inspection of Heinkel and finding nothing wrong with the woman, Seras lightly shook her friend's shoulder to wake her up.

"Dark Side Cookies!" the Jedi exclaimed in apparent horror, drawing a confused look from her friend. Then Heinkel rubbed her eyes and looked around. "What the... where am I?" As her mind cleared she began to recognize the face before her. "Seras? But I thought we were splitting up?"

"We... did," the former Jedi replied, wondering why her friend didn't seem to remember what was going on. "We already opened up our locks and the way is clear. Don't you remember reaching the central chamber?"

"I... no. I-I can't remember anything since we first parted," the Jedi answered in a bewildered tone, then cast a suspicious look at the Sith standing behind her friend. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

"Anything about what?" the Sith replied dismissively. "All I know is that you staggered in here, collapsed in the corner, and you're apparently suffering some kind of short term memory loss." He paused for a moment. "Sounds like the actions of a drunk woman to me. Do you have a headache too?"

"I- What? No! You... Yo-"

"Here, let me help you up," Seras interjected.

"Commentary: Organic meatbags and their incessant over use of harmful substances... It's a wonder that there's any of them left for me to blast."

"I'm not... Look, I haven't been drinking, okay? And just who are you anyway?" Heinkel fired back at the droid.

"That's just some lackey my apprentice picked up," Alucard responded.

"Objection: Lackey? Why you ignorant meatbag, I am no mere lackey. I am an HK 47 Assassination Droid, a marvel of superior design and function."

"Oh great, an assassination droid, just what we need. You know, because one blood thirsty maniac just wasn't enough," the Jedi commented sarcastically.

"I think we're getting a little off track here," Seras cut in. "We do have a mission to complete after all. Oh, speaking of which, I found out where they're holding the younglings."

"You did? Excellent, where are they being kept?"

"Hold on a minute there, Jedi. My master's orders were to scout out the place and observe. She said nothing about an ill planed rescue mission for a bunch of wailing, Jedi rugrats."

"That's true, Master," Seras responded as her mind searched for a way around that in-covenant mission restriction. "Even still... well, I just never thought you'd turn down the chance to kill something."

"Interjection: Kill something? My servos are already quivering in anticipation, Master. May we please, disregard the cowardly Sith? I am most eager to engage in some wanton slaughter... on your behalf, of course, Master."

Alucard glared at the droid. Where did that scrap of metal get off calling him cowardly? If he didn't like the automation's attitude so much he would have slagged it on the spot. "Very well, Apprentice, I suppose we can do our scouting in the general direction of where they're holding the Jedi's whelps... and if a few guards happen to catch sight of us on the way... Well, the master never said we couldn't defend ourselves."

Seras beamed. For the first time since her initial 'death' on Cheddar, she was going on a mission to save, rather than simply kill. And to top it off, she was saving children from an enemy more evil than any other she'd ever encountered. And she was even going to have an old friend from the Academy along for the ride. This was the kind of mission she'd dreamed of as a youngling herself, lying in her cot, late at night, at the Academy. In fact if anything were more perfect, the former Jedi would've had to consciously remind herself not to skip as she led the small group into the Sith stronghold.

_'Glad to see you're so pleased with yourself, Jedi Girl, but don't think I can't tell when I'm being manipulated.'_ Alucard thought to his apprentice, momentarily checking her walk.

_'Then wh-'_

_'Your attempts at manipulation may be transparent, my apprentice... but that doesn't mean your argument was without merit. It's been hours since my last victim, and I'm starting to get hungry again.'_

Alucard's dark reply did a lot to ground the overjoyed former Jedi. This wasn't _exactly_ like the adventures she'd dreamed of as a child. But she was still off on a quest to save a bunch of innocents from the clutches of evil, and that knowledge still lightened her steps somewhat as they proceeded within the Tarsus Academy.

* * *

There are a couple more references in this chapter, including a Star Trek TNG one, that I doubt anyone's going to get. BUT, since this one is so obscure, if you do get it, in addition to telling you you're right in an email, I'll attack a Congrats in the opening author's note of the next page. So, how 'bout it? Any hardcore trekkers reading this? ^_~

Have a good day, merry Christmas, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.


	7. The Rescue

**Chapter 7: The Rescue**

**AN:** Well, I'm afraid no one actually placed that Star Trek TNG reference from last chapter. :( But, both Lila and SukuU21 were pretty close. So, I'm giving them an honorable mention here.

* * *

The Dandy looking Sith's instructions proved to be accurate. It seemed the man, although manipulative and evil, had had some level of integrity after all. Of course, in addition to trying to kill Seras after telling her where the Jedi younglings were being held, he'd also failed to mention that those children were being guarded by more than two dozen silver assassination droids.

As soon as Seras and her companions had entered the room housing the former animal pens, they'd been greeted by a salvo of blaster fire. Anticipating the burst of laser fire, Seras had hit the floor as soon as she saw the red, box shaped glow of the optical sockets which served as the droids' eyes. Not all of her companions had been as quick to react however.

The blaster fire ripped into Seras's master, like a hundred small lightsaber slices. He didn't seem to care, just laughed a deranged sort of laugh as the red bolts tore into him until his limbs, trunk and head dropped lifelessly to the floor. To the Sith's right, HK47's frame was singed from the first few bolts that had struck before the droid had the chance to activate his personal force-field. Behind where Alucard had stood a moment before, Heinkel had just managed to switch on her lightsaber before the second volley of red fire reached her. And for just a split second the Jedi fixed a strange look upon the Sith corpse. For all his posturing and boasts, he'd been the first one killed, and yet that death, that unintentional sacrifice, had soaked up enough of the first salvo of enemy fire to save her. She owed her life to a Bastard of a Sith; the Force certainly had a peculiar sense of humor.

The misery in the room was thick, strong, almost tangible. Seras had no idea what these monsters had been doing to the Jedi younglings, but whatever it was, they were completely terrified. And as a Force lens she felt this terror fill every inch of her body. Yet, she, herself did not feel the least bit afraid. Instead this raw emotion fueled the latent force abilities within the younglings and as their emotions reached her, they carried that primal power with them. No, Seras was not afraid, but rather the fear of those around her became focused into fury and adrenaline fueled fire.

Faster than the eyes could see, Seras pushed off of the floor and rose to her feet, and in the same movement her lightsaber floated free of her belt and into her hand. She was nothing more than a blur as she flicked it on and charged the droids.

Dodging enemy fire with a speed and precision that seemed impossible, even to her former Jedi mentor, Seras cut a swatch through the enemy line. Not, a single bolt grazed her skin as she dived head first into the enemy with seeming reckless abandonment. Heinkel could hardly believe her eyes; her former student looked more wraith than human.

And so shocked was the Master Jedi that she forgot to block an incoming enemy shot. It hit her shoulder, searing flesh and drawing a muffled exclamation of pain. The Jedi was then shoved to the side, out of the stream of fire, by a cold, metallic hand.

"Exclamation: Get out of my way, Meatbag! I've got imposters to frag." A gravity beam shot from HK's wrist and pulled one of the fallen imposter's blaster-rifles to him. His shield shimmered both from its own energy and the impact points of enemy fire, as the droid's targeting program lined up headshot after headshot.

Poor Heinkel was just starting to recover from her shock, when she got an even bigger one. As she rose back to her feet and swung her lightsaber into a more offensive stance, preparing to join her former student in the bloodless massacre, a dark, sinister voice cooed in her ear. "She's quite impressive, isn't she?"

Heinkel's eyes went wide as she recognized the voice. "B-But you're... dead," she commented without thinking.

Alucard's only response to Heinkel's confusion was a twisted chuckle. "Yes, quite impressive... but that doesn't mean she gets to have all the fun." The Sith Master stretched out his hand and pulled three of the enemy droids to him. They hung helplessly, suspended by the Force; and as they floated around the Sith's body, purple lightning arched out, charging each of the droids in turn. And then, with a psychotic grin, the Sith let them fly. Each one of the makeshift lightning bombs impacted a small cluster of the remaining enemy droids, exploding and sending out charged shrapnel that tore through vital systems and fried the machine's remaining circuits.

"'A marvel of superior design and function'?" The Sith smugly quoted as he briefly turned towards HK47.

The proud droid quickly replayed the battle footage, totaling up his 'kills' and those of each of his companions, only to find that he'd trailed behind both of the Sith. If HK's face had been capable of such things, it would've twisted into an unhappy and disappointed scowl. As it was, all he could do was determine to wipe that smug grin off the Sith Master's face with they're next confrontation. The droid could tolerate being second to his master when it came to wanton slaughter, but he utterly refused to play second fiddle to anyone else. Oh, the 'game' was on now.

Heinkel felt a little self conscious herself. The Jedi hardly boasted about their abilities to kill and destroy. Even still, she'd been taken so off-guard by... _everything_ that she'd failed to take out a single enemy droid. And despite the fact that her training told her such things were ultimately unimportant in the grand scheme of things, she still felt a strong desire to show up her former student's current master and prove all his derogatory comments about Jedi inferiority were unfounded. But that would have to wait; for now the Jedi had more important responsibilities to attend to - checking on the welfare of youngling's they'd just saved.

Heinkel rushed over to the barred cages the children were being held in. They were filthy, looking as if they hadn't been given a chance to wash up since they'd been abducted. In fact the smell coming off of the cages, made the Jedi doubt that the children's captors had even permitted them trips to the bathroom. They also looked malnourished and dehydrated. The only positive thing that could be said was that among the myriad stains in there robes, none bore the telltale color of dried blood. It seemed their captors had not tortured them, merely neglected them.

These poor, mistreated youths, moved to the ends of their cages. They pressed against each other and stuck their arms through the gaps in the bars. Reaching towards the familiar face, it was evident that the younglings did not care one bit that their instructor from the academy had failed to rack up a single 'frag' in the preceding battle. No, they were simply grateful for the kind, reassuring presence that told them their captivity was nearing its end.

Seras keyed the code she'd been given by the gambling crazed Sith, and the cage doors swung open. The children ran to their teacher and she allowed herself the very non-Jedi slip of embracing the mistreated and frightened youths, despite their grungy state. It was a heartwarming scene... at least as far as Seras was concerned. Her master merely let out a gruff huff, while her droid whispered a very inappropriate comment.

"Commentary: The little urchins seem to be thronging our meatbag companion. With your permission, Master, I could blast a few of them until the rest learn to keep their distance."

"What? No. You're... you're horrible!"

"Pleading query: Please, Master? Just a couple of the scrawny ones? It would make me so happy."

"No. Absolutely not. You're never to 'blast' children... is that clear?"

"Patronizing Response: Yes, Master. Of course, Master. We must always think of the children, Master."

"I'm serious, HK."

"Regretful Resignation: As you insist, Master."

With the initial rush of the happy reunion out of the way, Heinkel noticed that not all the younglings taken were present. "Where are Jacqu, Quicreg, Meldiah, To-Es, Ben, Quin-Kac-"

"They took them away. All of them, by threes!" one of the rescued younglings, a red Twilek, cut in, answering her master's comment before the woman could finish it. "Rouque was in the last group they took. Please! You have to save him! The ones they take... They never come back!" the girl begged as tears began to stream from her violet eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll save him," Heinkel consoled.

"I'm coming too," Seras piped in.

"What? Listen, Jedi Girl, I've indulged your whims so far, but this is too much. We have our own mission to complete, remember? We've already saved the bulk of your sniveling Jedi brats. We're not wasting more time trying to track down a few stragglers, who are most likely already dead anyway."

At this the Twilek broke down completely into sobs. Heinkel patted the youngling's back reassuringly and glared daggers at the Sith.

"You said being a Sith meant doing what you want to do," Seras replied stubbornly. "Well, _I_ want to go looking for the lost younglings."

Alucard growled and stalked up to his apprentice. Towering over her, he looked down and replied through strained teeth. "You are still _my_ apprentice."

Seras stared right back up at her master. "_Sith_ apprentice," she commented, refusing to back down. "And what kind of Sith apprentice would I be if I didn't go after what I want? 'My chains are broken. The Force shall set me free.' If I am free, then I choose to use that freedom to help Heinkel. It's my right to do so."

Alucard growled once more, but then turned away. "Fine... but freedom works both ways, my young apprentice._ I'm_ going to complete _our_ mission. I'll not be there to save you if you get in over your pretty, little head," he warned.

"I... understand."

"Good. I'll meet you back at the ship when I'm finished." And with that the Sith Master started to the doorway. Then he paused for a second or two as he reached it. "And do try not to get yourself killed... I've invested a lot in you. I'd hate to see that investment wasted." The Sith was gone before Seras had a chance to reply.

The former Jedi turned to her droid. "HK, I want you to escort the younglings back to that room I first found you in. They should be safe there until Heinkel and I can rejoin you."

"Strenuous Objection: Master, I am an assassination droid, not a meatbag babysitter!"

"Be that as it may, you're _my_ assassination droid, are you not? That means you follow my orders."

"Resignation: Very well, Master."

"Oh, and, HK, when we meat back up with you, I expect to find all the younglings alive and fully intact."

"Placating Response: Of course, Master. As you wish, Master. Should I wash the little meatbags' robes as well?"

Seras grinned in an amused sort of way. "No, HK, that will not be necessary."

* * *

"So, how are we suppose to find the lost ones?" Seras asked her old mentor as they crept through one of the ancient Sith Academy's corridors.

"The same way a Jedi finds everything she needs; the Force will guide us."

Seras considered that for a moment. "Maybe, but I'd prefer something a little more concrete."

"You've changed, Seras. You use to be far more trusting. The Force guides all Jedi - all people - whether we're aware of it or not."

"And yet there's so much suffering, seems like the Force isn't doing such a great job... or its intensions are not what we believe them to be."

Heinkel stopped and turned to her friend. "So, you are a Sith."

"I... I'm not big into labels," the former Jedi dodged.

"Oh really? You didn't seem to have any hang up labeling yourself a Sith when you were chatting with Alucard back there."

"I was just selecting the argument most likely to win."

"So you don't consider yourself a Sith?"

"To tell the truth, I don't much think about it anymore. What's the difference anyway?"

Heinkel seemed surprised by the question. "A Jedi lets the Force _guide_ her and moves with it to help _others_. A Sith attempts to _subdue_ the Force and _use_ it to make herself stronger, and in the process is consumed by the Darkside."

"Well, I _use_ the Force to help _others_. So, you tell me: does that make me a Jedi... or a Sith?"

Heinkel shook her head. "I don't know, Seras. I don't know." She paused. "But - whatever you are - I don't think I could've made it this far without you. Thank you for helping me."

Seras smiled. "No problem."

The two continued on a short ways, the one who still believed in the guiding nature of the Force leading the way. Then Seras broke the silence. "You know, my ma- Alucard helped too."

"I suppose," the Jedi master consented in a non-committal tone, then held up a finger as she sensed a small group headed their way.

The two Force users retreated into the shadows and watched. They held their breath as the silver droids passed them by. And only once the mechanical clunking of steel feet upon the stone floor receded did Seras again pick up their conversation. "I told you he was different," she whispered in a vindicated tone.

Heinkel rolled her eyes. "He helped because you offered him the chance to use his powers to destroy. That hardly sets him apart from other Sith."

"_Other_ Sith abducted the younglings. _He_ helped save them," the young woman defended. "Are you really so blinded by prejudice that you can't see the difference?"

Heinkel shrugged. "The Sith have always fought each other. Their division is their greatest weakness. So it means little to say that he stood against another group of Sith. Such a thing comes naturally to them."

"You just can't give him a break, can you? He showed concern for me, doesn't that count for anything?"

"He showed concern over his 'investment'; he didn't want his time 'wasted'. And why do you care so much what I think of him?" Heinkel paused and turned once more to her friend. "Unless there's more to this relationship than you're letting on," she prodded.

"I... No... That's not... I just think you're being unfair. That's all."

Heinkel sighed and looked unconvinced. She shook her head again. "I suppose it wouldn't do any good to warn you that He's a Sith Bastard?" She studied the expression on her friend's face. "No, I didn't think it would. See, this is why the Jedi forbid such things. People get emotionally involved and their hearts start running away with their heads. It leads to bad judgment... and stupid mistakes."

Now it was Seras's turn to roll her eyes. "Quit being so dramatic. I already told you nothing was going on," she responded, forgetting that she'd said nothing of the sort... merely attempted to switch the focus of their conversation. "And even if it was - which it's not - untold trillions of people across hundreds of worlds find love and happiness. It can't always end in the kind of disasters the Jedi code predicts. If it did, no one would bother anymore."

Heinkel fixed her friend with a strange look: part sorrow; part longing; and part concern. "Untold millions find love. Happiness is far rarer. Two people can't ever be perfectly happy with each other; differing goals will always create some tension. And most of the time, the relationship is not strong enough to survive that tension. And when that relationship is between two people with important destinies before them... Even Reven and Bastila parted eventually. Such is the nature of things. Love leads to heartbreak far more often than happiness. And to love a Sith... I'm sorry, Seras, but I can't see that ending in anything but misery, separation... likely even death."

Heinkel saw the dejected look on her friend's face and realized that the advice was coming too late to do any good. "You've already fallen for him," the Jedi Master commented in a melancholy tone, and then allowed herself to offer up one placating observation for her friend. "Well, at least as far as Sith Bastards go you managed to fall for one who seems willing - if a bit unhappy - to let you live your life your way."

Seras smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm only speaking the truth, and it's a poor Galaxy indeed if we have to start thanking people for that." Heinkel stretched out her arms and placed her hand upon the younger woman's shoulder. "You just remember when... if things go..." The Jedi sighed. This should not have been so difficult. "Just remember that whatever happens, you are never alone. You'll always have friends to stand by your side." A moment passed between the two, and then the Jedi Master decided to switch the conversation before they dredged up _too_ many of those dangerous and unpredictable emotions. "Now, come on... We've got children to save, and I think I finally got a bead on them."

* * *

Well, that should take care of chapter 7. I hope you all enjoyed. Next chapter we find out the sinister secret behind what Millennium's been doing with the younglings they separated and more mystery unfolds as Seras finds a lost, little girl who isn't quite what she seems.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Alright, Lila, you're up. ;)


	8. The Ceremony

**Chapter 8: The Ceremony**

**AN:** I've got some mixed feelings about this one. I don't think it turned out quite as well as I was hoping for, seems like a bit too much action and description, not enough plot and suspense. :( Well, let me know what you guys and gals think of it, okay? And if you come away feeling a little disappointed too... well, I'll try to do better next time. :/

* * *

Heinkel led Seras through a mid-sized corridor that opened up into a huge chamber. The area looked large enough to serve as a hangar for a number of fighters. Ancient stone walkways crisscrossed above a seemingly bottomless crevasse, and Sith symbols were engraved everywhere. In the center of the room, three of the crossways converged into a ring shaped pedestal that was itself as large as some of the smaller rooms in the academy. And within the center of this pedestal a half skeletal body rested on a dark onyx alter.

The two women watched as three of the Jedi younglings were dragged, in chains, to red circles which were carved into the floor where each of the three walkways merged into the center ring. The younglings, weakened from hunger and their spirits all but broken by abuse, offered up pitifully little resistance, even as a sinister voice began to chant in a long forgotten tongue and the circles beneath the children's feet began to glow.

Suddenly the feeble struggling that the children had been capable of ceased and they collapsed upon the rings. Trails of glowing red mist began to rise from the children, like steam coming off a freshly baked pie. The streams twisted as they moved towards the alter in the center and began to feed into the corpse upon it.

Immediately Seras noticed the resemblance between those streams of mist and the red cloud her master had devolved into the night her relationship with the Force had been changed forever, and though she wasn't completely sure what was going on, she had a pretty good idea what the ones conducting the ceremony had been using the captured younglings for. The Force that dwelt within them was being used to fuel whatever dark ritual the Sith were conducting, and, once spent, each of the children would be nothing more than an empty husk, their very life force drained away. In that moment Seras knew there was no longer any hope for the ones who'd been taken before; they were already long gone.

But there was still hope for the three being drained now. The streams of life still rising from them testified that they were not yet wholly spent. She could yet save them... or barring that, she could at least punish their tormentors - their murderers. The former Jedi's face fell into an angry scowl and her lightsaber flicked on. She sprang from the entrance to the chamber, and with a primal shout that shocked her old mentor as much as it did her enemies, the Sith apprentice charged her enemy.

However said enemies were not simple, mass produced droids this time. No, the ones conducting the ceremony, the ones holding the children against their will and draining them of life, were Force users themselves. They were dark Jedi who'd abandoned their principles long ago, in search of greater power. And they trusted that their mysterious benefactor - whom they knew only through holographic transmissions - would lead them to that power.

Seras's bronze saber clashed against a beam of red light, producing a flash of brilliant white, as her nearest enemy blocked her blow. And suddenly, the former Jedi thought that perhaps loudly announcing her presence with a primal roar hadn't been her best decision.

The dark Jedi grinned, the expression somewhat obscured by the shadow cast from his hood. "Look, brothers, the Force has led another, little Jedi lamb to our slaughter house. How delightful." As the fallen Jedi spoke his left hand - the one not holding the red lightsaber - came forward, and Seras suddenly felt an irresistible force push against her stomach.

She flew backwards, and the Sith lunged after her. But before his strike could land upon her skin, a streak of golden yellow intercepted it. "That's my friend, Sith. And I'll not lose another one to the likes of you," Heinkel growled as she sent out a wave of energy to push the fallen Jedi backwards. She then extended her hand to her former student and helped the girl to her feet. "Once more, but together this time?"

Seras nodded. "Together." And then, remembering her training, Seras lowered her walls and focused on her friend. She let her friend's energy pass through her and rechanneled it back from whence it came, strengthening them both just before the other fallen Jedi joined the fray.

Seras and her former mentor fought back to back and side to side, as they sprinted and spun around the new battlefield, each guarding the other's rear and weaker flank. They moved with surprising grace and ease, a side effect of Seras's focusing technique and the temporary bond it had formed between them. Their motions were fluid as the two partners danced a dance of death with their opponents. Light flashed and clashed in the dark theater and crimson blood spilled with surprising... beauty.

But it was not enough. The two were too greatly outnumbered. Seven fallen Jedi stood against the two women, as five more continued their incantation, and the children's life continued to seep away. The dark Jedi didn't have to kill the women, and they knew it, just hold them off until the ceremony was complete and their chanting allies could join them.

And as they continued to fight, Seras and Heinkel began to become aware of just how futile their efforts were. They were not out matched, but they were outnumbered, and this was a fight they could not win. Seras's heart began to sink. All that, and they would accomplish nothing but getting themselves killed. But then the former Jedi realized something. Like the dark Jedi, they too did not have to kill their enemies to win the battle. They only had to save the children and stop whatever dark ceremony the fallen Jedi were performing. And Seras had an idea of how that might yet be accomplished.

"We need to reach the alter."

"No, we should head towards the younglings. If we can get them away from those glowing circl-"

"No, the alter; trust me."

Heinkel inhaled deeply then nodded. The alter it was, and as the two battled their way there, Seras prayed her plan would work.

"Alright, we're here... now what?"

"Just buy me a few seconds." And with that the former Jedi left her partner's side and jumped up onto the alter. She squatted down and touched the glowing corpse and felt the raw energy contained within. It was incredible, like touching the very face of the Force itself. Every nerve tingled and for just a split second the galaxy seemed to open up to her. She could feel the Force once more, but not like before. Now it wasn't merely a subtle tugging at her gut, a single voice whispering in her subconscious. It was a heartbeat, a primal, living thing. And the shock of the experience nearly caused the young woman to pull back. She resisted this temptation however and instead began to refocus the energy.

The total combined potential of three Force sensitives coursed through the former Jedi, and suddenly Seras felt an almost overwhelming temptation to keep that power, that warmth within her. She'd been cold for so long, didn't she deserve this? Seras sneered and shook her head. No, she would not give into... the darkside(?) the hunger(?) whatever this was. Rather than keeping the power for herself, Seras manipulated it into a burst of raw Force energy that filled the room and temporarily bent the very fabric of time around its other occupants before reflecting back into the three, nearly completely drained, younglings.

And then all was still. The room was quiet, and all its other occupants seemed frozen in their actions. They were apart, out of time, and the scene looked surprisingly serene. But Seras knew it would not last for long. The children were just starting to rise. Like her they'd been spared the stasis that encapsulated the chamber's other occupants. They looked confused, and Seras wished she could spare a moment to explain.

But there was no time. "RUN!" she shouted as loud as she could while she pointed at the entrance her and Heinkel had used, and her voice must've carried the needed urgency for not a single child questioned the order. They ran for safety, and Seras leapt down from the alter, slung her friend over her shoulder and also headed for the exit.

The stasis was just starting to wear off and the fallen Jedi were moving as if caught in the slow motion play back of a holo-recorder as Seras reached the entrance to the room. The children were already there, waiting for her, and the former Jedi smashed the control panel beside the opening, forcing the durasteel blast door down, just as time resumed its normal flow.

Seras heaved a sigh of relief as she placed her friend back onto her own two feet. Heinkel looked a bit dazed by the sudden change in their situation. But she adjusted quickly; and realizing that the sealed door would only buy them so much time, both women were quick to get their party moving down the ancient corridors and away from their enemies.

Once they'd run far enough that Heinkel felt confident their pursuers would be hard pressed to discover which path they'd taken through the labyrinth of ancient halls, chambers, and antechambers that made up the academy, the two women slowed their pace, much to the relief of the exhausted, tired, and malnourished children who'd been struggling to keep up.

And with the slower pace, the Jedis' jaws began to loosen. "Who are you?" one of the children finally asked of their rescuer.

"Someone who was a youngling just like you several years ago," Heinkel answered for her friend. "She came to help me get you out."

"What about the others?" a second child exclaimed as if suddenly remembering his friends. "We have to save them!"

"Don't worry, Rouque, the others are safe," Seras answered._ 'At least all of them that are left alive,'_ the former Jedi added within the sanctity of her own mind.

"Wait... how do you know my name?" Rouque asked in a slightly suspicious tone.

"Yeah, and if you're a Jedi, why are you wearing a Sith robe?" the third child added.

"It's a long story," Seras answered after a short pause.

"One we don't have the time for right now," Heinkel added, her tone making it clear to the Younglings that they were to drop the subject.

Seras was glad for the reprieve. She wasn't exactly sure how she would've explained her current situation to the children. Somehow, she doubted that the knowledge that she was now a Force siphon who'd held each of their spirits within her - however briefly - would do much to set the children's minds at ease. Nor would the fact that she was in fact a _former_ Jedi, now the apprentice to a powerful, and at times _very_ creepy, Sith master.

Heinkel cast a curious look at the woman beside her, and Seras knew that her friend also wondered how she'd identified that particular Youngling as Rouque. Even still, Seras also knew that the other women would wait until a more appropriate time to voice such questions. For now it was more important to keep the children calm and the group focused on staying one step ahead of the fallen Jedi infesting the ancient, Sith Academy.

* * *

The dark Jedi in charge of conducting the ceremony gulped as he faced the shimmering, translucent, blue hologram.

"I asked you a question," the pudgy projection informed in a menacing tone, "and I expect an answer. Why hasn't the ceremony been completed yet?"

"The... The younglings have escaped, Master."

"Escaped? How?"

"They... they had help. Two women, Jedi. They caught us by surprise and abducted the younglings before we'd had the chance to finish transferring their life force into the subject." The dark robe swayed slightly as the man within trembled nervously. The master did not have a reputation as a forgiving man.

"Two women you say?" the hologram replied, sounding more intrigued than upset. "And you're sure they were _both_ Jedi?"

The man thought for a minute. He knew that relaying false intelligence was a pet-peeve of his master, one that always ended in shouts of horror from those who'd made that mistake. "No, I'm not sure... but they both used lightsabers, so I assum-"

"These women: describe them."

"They were both blonde. One was a little short, but very voluptuous. The other was thinner... with a somewhat smaller breast size. They both had blue-eyes. And they fought like hellspawn."

"And only the two women were present?"

"Yes. No one else was involved in the fight. _None of us_ saw anyone else."

"It's them. It has to be. But they're earlier than expected. And _he_ wasn't with them. Interesting," the hologram mused, apparently to itself, before stopping to address the fallen Jedi once more. "What about the rest of the younglings?"

"I've sent Krelax and a contingent of droids to retrieve three more from their cages. And the rest of my team's broken off into pairs and are currently combing the academy for any trace of the invaders."

"What? Who told you to do that?"

"I just thoug-"

"Call them back immediately!"

"But, Master, wh-"

Suddenly a paralyzing ray shot out of the center area of the large, black, hovering orb projecting the hologram and the dark Jedi fell helplessly to the floor. "Never question my orders," the hologram instructed, as the fallen Jedi repented and begged for mercy. The hologram ignored him completely, instead turning to the heavily tattooed woman standing to the left of the hovering orb. "Lobotomize him and recall the rest of his team, all except Krelax."

The butch looking woman nodded with a grin. "Yes, my master." And then the pleading coming from the paralyzed man turned to shrieks of terror as Zorin began her work.

"When you are finished. Drag him to the nearest transfer ring. Then contact Krelax. If he reports that the rest of the younglings are gone as well, those who failed to keep them will fuel the rest of the ceremony themselves."

"Understood, Master," Zorin replied, her eyes dancing at the thought of what was to come.

The hologram dissolved away, and the orb turned and left the room, the master obviously confident in his sadistic apprentices ability to conclude the ceremony. Everything - everything important anyway - was going according to plan.

* * *

Well, there you have chapter 8. :/ I'm sorry I wasn't able to get to the mysterious girl this chapter, but I didn't want that scene to seem jammed in (which it would've if I'd just tacked it onto the end). She's too important to the story line. She should definitely be in the next chapter though. Anyway, I hope you all still enjoyed.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Alright, Lila, batter up.


	9. The Crypt

**Chapter 9: The Crypt**

Seras and Heinkel were on the run. In making their way to the academy's back entrance and the tunnels where HK 47 would be waiting for them with the other group of younglings, they'd run themselves right into Krelax and his contingent of droids. And realizing the risk to the children, weakened as they were by their captivity and without weapons of their own , Seras and Heinkel decided it would be best to exercise the better part of valor. So they ran through the ancient corridors, ducking blaster fire, sidestepping the occasionally lightning bolt, and keeping themselves between the enemy and the children.

The blast from a silver plated droid's rifle singed Seras's hair and she let out an exclamation of surprise and anxiety as she repeatedly tapped the area to smother the small but growing flames. "This isn't working," the young woman called out through labored breaths. "We're not gaining ground here, and they're just going to cut us to pieces."

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," Heinkel replied as she turned her body so that she could deflect an incoming blaster bolt with her lightsaber.

Seras bit her lip for a moment. "Get the children to safety; I'll hold them off."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Don't worry; I can handle myself," the former Jedi replied with more confidence than she was really feeling. The truth was that she had no idea if she could take on the Dark Jedi and the droids all alone, without any Force connection to draw upon. She could sense his connection to the Force, and it didn't seem all that strong. Even still, that only spoke to the man's inherent talent, not how skilled he might be in the use of that talent. And even if she could take the Dark Jedi, there was still the matter of the company of droids to contend with.

But she had little choice in the matter. If they continued to try to outrun their pursuers they were as good as dead anyway, and a shot at life was better than assured death. Besides, even if she failed to fell her enemies, she could still buy her friend and the children the time they needed to escape.

"Alright, but here," Heinkel agreed as she deactivated her lightsaber and tossed it to her one-time student. "You still remember your duel weapon training?"

Seras smiled. "Of course." She caught the lightsaber in the air and flicked it back on.

"Good. Not much good against a single opponent of equal skill," Heinkel began.

"But it's great when you're outnumbered by a bunch of low level blaster-heads," they finished in unison, and Heinkel smiled back at her former student.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

And as the party turned a corner, Seras stopped and waited for the incoming enemy. She took a deep breath and let it our slowly as she prepared herself. The Dark Jedi was the first to turn the corner, and Seras struck. Her right arm came down quickly, as she sliced at her enemy's neck, but he raised his own lightsaber just in time to block the blow. Then he let loose a blast of lightning from his 'off-hand'. Seras used her borrowed lightsaber to block that attack as her primary weapon remained locked with his.

"Where'd your friends run off to?" the Dark Jedi questioned with a sadistic tone.

"Didn't your master ever teach you to concentrate on one thing at a time?" Seras quipped back as she swung her off-hand out at the man's gut.

He leapt backwards just in time to avoid the strike, then grinned. "Me? I'm a multitasker... let's see if you are too," he replied as the sound of mechanical foot falls drew nearer and the first of the silver plated droids began to round the corner.

Seras grimaced as said droids opened fire at near pointblank range, and the former Jedi had all she could do to keep up with the flood of chaotically unleashed automatic fire. The torrent of shots drove her back, and Seras quickly realized that, cut off from any allies and without the Force to draw upon, she was outmatched by her enemies' greater numbers.

Then a cold chill spread through the former Jedi's body. And it was only when she saw that the Dark Jedi was looking around the corridor nervously, that she realized it was not the thought of her seemingly unavoidable fate that was the cause of the unnatural chill. There was something stirring in the air. Seras could feel its connection to the Force. It was dark, cold, a malevolent thing. And the only thing that gave her comfort was the fact that the Dark Jedi seemed just as terrified of this new presence as she was.

The droids didn't seem to care one bit about... whatever was brewing; most likely because they couldn't sense it. They continued to fire, and Seras did her best to block, even as a panicked look began to creep into the Dark Jedi's face. "Show yourself! What are you!" he screamed as Seras started to hear a sound like barely audible whispers. And then, it happened.

From out of the wall behind her a pale, ghostly luminous creature appeared. It's form vaguely resembled that of a human, though its whispery appearance also conjured up images of smoke or steam. The creature - whatever it was - passed through Seras, the sensation of the event causing her to drop to her knees for a moment and rub her upper arms. Seras's teeth chattered uncontrollably, and for a few seconds she felt as though she was dead, buried and someone had just walked over her grave.

"No! S-Stay back!" the Dark Jedi shouted as the apparition drew ever nearer. Even the droids, now able to see the oddity, had stopped their fire and merely stared at it.

Then an otherworldly screech split the air as the creature reached the Dark Jedi. The latter was lifted from the ground, and hung for a moment, suspended and apparently helpless as the whispery tendrils of the creature coiled around him. Then the translucent 'body' of the creature enveloped him. Seras heard terrible screaming as the man withered before her eyes, growing almost skeletal thin and seemingly aging a hundred years in a matter of seconds. Once the creature had its fill of the Dark Jedi, it dropped his nearly mummified body unceremoniously to the floor, where said body broke apart into little more than dust. Then the creature turned its attention to the droids. The droids opened fire of course, but their shots seemed to do little more than annoy the monster as they passed through its ghost-like form.

Seras, meanwhile, managed to scramble back up to her feet, and ran. She wasn't sure where she was running anymore. Terror had replaced rational thought. But at the moment she didn't really care. She'd gone into survival mode and was now driven by instinct instead of reason. So, through the twisting corridors she ran, losing track of time as well as her sense of direction, and by the time the girl stopped running, she found herself quite lost... but still alive.

And so Seras began to wander the unfamiliar corridors of the enemy academy, wishing that just once someone had provided her with some kind of map she could use to navigate the labyrinth and find her way back to Henkel and the others.

Instead, she found herself drifting further and further into an apparently abandoned part of the academy. Spider webs hung thick upon the walls and ceiling and the Sith symbols so proudly displayed throughout the rest of the academy had all but faded away. Seras knew she couldn't possibly be headed in the right direction to rendezvous with her group, and she was just about to turn around and begin retracing her steps with something unexpected stopped her in her tracks.

As Seras began to turn she caught sight of a little girl standing behind her. The girl didn't like more than ten, perhaps a small twelve, yet she stared up at Seras with an odd look of wisdom and experience. "I... Who are you?" Seras asked in a mixture of intrigue and concern, not for herself but for the child which she assumed was lost and very much in trouble.

The little girl said nothing. Instead she simply turned away from Seras and ran down one of the corridors. Seras gave chase, attempting to calm the seemingly scared little girl even as she chased her. "No, wait, come back! I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to help!"

Seras's cries went unheeded as the strange girl simply lead her deeper into the abandoned section of the academy, then turned a corner and apparently vanished into thin air. Seras didn't she her disappear, but the corridor the little girl last ducked into dead-ended abruptly and there was no visible door or opening.

Seras stared for a moment, wondering just what was going on. Then her common sense told her that the girl she was chasing couldn't have vanished like a wraith or passed through a solid wall. There had to be some sort of secret passage in the wall. So Seras began to search for it, and as her fingers glided over the carved stone one small bit of it gave way. And then the whole wall spun around, and Seras found herself in a dark and creepy room.

This room, unlike the area Seras was in previously, did not simply look abandoned. It looked positively haunted, with thick cobwebs not just clinging to the walls and ceiling, but stretching across the open area of the room as well. In the center of the room was a large box, about the size of a person and carved stands rose from the floor on each side of the box. The only light in the room was provide by two luminescent stones, one of which was perched upon the right stand while the other laid on the dust covered floor beside the left stand.

Seras gulped and looked around the creepy room, searching for any sign of the little girl, but she found none. She shivered as she realized that there was only one place in the room the girl could be hiding and began to approach the box which stood in the center.

Seras's mind screamed at her to turn back, that there was something very wrong with this room and that opening the box in the center could only lead to some horrible event. Yet her heart and her curiosity compelled her onward. Seras reached the free standing box and swallowed hard. She screwed up her courage and threw it open with one great, jerking motion.

And then the stench of mildew and old decay with her like a wall. A skeletal figure fell forward, its body draping over hers and some bizarre liquid poured out of the bottom of the coffin to coat her boots in... she didn't want to even think about what. Seras gasped and pushed the skeleton off her, then jumped back from it. Decay and age had eroded any discernable marks - except for those a trained archeologist or anthropologist might be able to uncover - from the corpse, save one. Its left hand had been sliced off, a dismemberment that Seras assumed had occurred prior to the individual's death.

Seras turned away from the dead body, intending to head back to the secret passageway and leave this tomb behind her. But she found her path once again blocked by the mysterious little girl from before. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't permit you to leave... not yet anyway."

"W-what do you mean?" Seras asked nervously as she began to back away from the girl who suddenly seemed for more frightening than she had a few moment before.

The girl grinned as she approached the former Jedi. "You are too important."

"I-I don't understand."

"No, not yet. But you will... in time. For now..." The girl's voice trailed off for a moment as the same creature which had attacked the Dark Jedi and droids earlier began to rise from the skeletal remains lying on the floor "Simply take what comfort you can in the knowledge that this is necessary," the girl continued as Seras suddenly found herself lifted from the floor. The whips of mist surrounded her and held her in place just as they had the Dark Jedi. But instead of draining her, they began to enter her body through her mouth and nostrils. Seras's eyes suddenly glowed bright white and then began to dim to a pale silver. The image of the little girl vanished away, and the former Jedi passed out. Then slowly, her unconscious body, descend to lay beside the dead body on the floor, and the last of the strange vapors entered her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Heinkel was passing through the tunnel Seras had followed to open her lock on the academy's back door, searching for some trace of the other Jedi younglings, the ones who'd been placed in the charge of that odd droid Seras had found in these very same tunnels. And as the Jedi teacher continued to move through the stone tunnels she began to detect familiar Force signatures, ones not being produced by the younglings currently at her side. Those younglings strongest in the Force were the first to be felt, but as the Jedi drew ever nearer the location of the droid and the younglings left in his care, she began to feel the presence of even those with the weakest connection to the Force. And then... and then a sickeningly sweat aroma filled her nostrils and she began to sense growing fear in the hearts of those younglings not currently in her care.

Heinkel turned to the younglings beside her. "Can any of you sense your fellow students up ahead?" she asked, knowing that the group was already moving as fast as it could.

The younglings cast uncertain glances at the faces around them, but Heinkel could sense that one of them was holding something back. "Rouque, can you sense any of your classmates?"

"I-I sense Deline," Rouque answered honestly if a bit hesitantly, and Heinkel remembered how concerned the young Twilek was for Rouque when they'd first freed her. Under normal circumstances, other Jedi masters would've attempted to quash such developing attachments between their students. But Heinkel was more tolerant than most, and their current circumstances were hardly normal.

"Good," the Jedi replied. "Everyone follow Rouque; he'll keep you headed towards the other students. I'm going to go on ahead to make sure it's safe."

"But... but, Master, you don't have your lightsaber. What will you do if-" one of the other younglings began.

"A Jedi is not defenseless without her lightsaber. It is a tool, nothing more. The Force is what gives a Jedi her true strength. I'll be fine." And with those final words of encouragement, Heinkel drew upon the Force to increase her speed and disappeared in a blur of movement.

Running at top speed, it did not take Heinkel long to navigate the few remaining twist and turns between her and the other group of younglings. She arrived at the old machine workshop in a matter of seconds and found a most disturbing sight awaiting her.

All of the younglings in the room were crowded into one corner as the rust colored droid sat in the center of the room, in front of a makeshift fire pit. And above the pit rested a metal grate with slabs of meat roasting upon it. For a split second, Heinkel wondered just why the children all seemed so frightened, but then her eyes rested upon the lump of raw 'meat' lying beside the droid. It was a human, a full grown male to be precise, and the areas of his robe not stained red from the blood spilled by the droid's cutting were black. HK 47 was barbequing some random Dark Jedi!

Heinkel just stood there and stared for a good half minute, her mind having trouble accepting the sight before her, as HK used a jagged, sharp repair tool to cut into the center of one of the human 'steaks'. "Commentary: I do believe it's done. Instruction: come on you little, meatbags. Dinner's ready."

"WHAT are you doing?" Heinkel practically exploded from the room's entranceway.

HK simply turned to the Jedi and replied, "Informative Response: Only what my master instructed me to do."

"You... you're frying up a person! There's no way Seras told you to do that!"

"Explanation: My master told me to care for the young meatbags, and they kept complaining that they were hungry. One even told me that he was starving. So, in order to ensure that all the younglings remained 'alive and fully intact' I needed to provide them with food. This," - the droid continued, motioning to the body beside him - "was the nearest available source."

"They... they can't eat another human being, you soul-less bucket of bolts!"

"Amendment: Oh, that's right. I did forget about your species' irrational dislike for the cannibalism of needed parts from other sentient meatbags. Stupid meatbag ideology. Still my master's instruction must be obeyed. If the little meatbags are starving, they must eat to stay alive." The droid paused for a moment and seemed to be considering the situation. "Musing: Perhaps I can puree the steaks, hold the little meatbags down, and force the liquid nourishment down their throats."

"No! No, you can't force the 'liquid nourishment' down their throats! What's wrong with you?"

"Explanation: Well, I can't just let them starve to death. I'm not going to fail in carrying out a direct order from my master simply because of some irrational distaste of the little meatbags."

"You... you can't be serious!" Heinkel exclaimed. "Can't you tell when someone's exaggerating?"

"Exasperated response: I'm an assassination droid, not an anthropologist!"

Heinkel just shook her head sadly. "Just... just get rid of that dead body and those 'steaks', and I promise you, everyone will be fine." The Jedi took a deep breath - and instantly regretted it as the air of roasting human flesh filled her lungs - as she attempted to calm herself. She wondered if Seras has okay, and desperately hoped that her former student would rejoin her soon, both for Seras's own safety and because Heinkel didn't know how much more of this obviously deranged droid she could take.

* * *

Well, there we have the ninth chapter. Hope you all enjoyed and sorry about the long wait.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

**PS.** Okay, Lila, my next contribution's in; time for your final one before sending your "Charity Burbage and the New Prince" fic on hiatus. :/

**PPS.** And on a similar note, I hear that NBC hasn't renewed Chuck for a fifth season yet. So, please, if there are any Chuck fans in the audience who also have facebook counts, go to my profile, click the "SAVE CHUCK" link, and "like" the page it brings you to (thanks, Lila, for informing me about the online petition ;D). And thanks to all of you who take the time to help try to save this great show! ;D

To Larisa: Thanks for the review. :) I'm glad to hear that you've been enjoying _this_ little fusion story too. ;) And it's always nice to find another KOTOR fan. ;D

To Miss Missy: Thank you for the review. I'm very pleased to hear that you think this sequel is an improvement over "Such a Quiet Thing, to Fall" and that my stories have been "progressively improving". :D And I hope you continue to enjoy my writing and had as much fun reading this chapter as you did previous ones. ;)


	10. Whispers in the Dark

**Chapter 10: Whispers in the Dark**

"What are you doing?" Heinkel asked the droid who had his chest plate open and was busily fiddling away with some of his own components, an exasperated edge to the Jedi Master's tone.

"Statement: I am attempting to restore full functionality. When my master reactivated me, the single power cell she used only provided me with a twenty percent charge. I'm currently running in 'power-saver' mode."

"No, I mean what are you doing with that double-bladed lightsaber by your feet?"

"Statement: The same thing I was attempting to do with the meatbag who once possessed it." HK paused and turned his optics towards the Jedi when she failed to respond to his statement. Her expression and lack of verbal response told him that she didn't get the connection. "Elaboration: I am attempting to 'cannibalize' needed parts - namely the power cells - from this device and integrate them into my systems."

"Oh," Heinkel replied and paused. "Well, will it still work once you're finished?"

"Inquiry: Why?"

"I was wondering i-" Heinkel's response was overpowered by the sound of a nearby explosion. "What was that?" The Jedi Master exclaimed as her initial surprise began to fade.

Hk 47 quickly slammed his chest plate closed. "Statement: It seems we have company." The droid then hefted the blaster leaning up on the wall beside him and headed towards the room's doorway.

"Wait, what do you mean we have company?" Heinkel inquired as she followed after the metal assassin.

"Explanation: I booby trapped the tunnels leading to this room."

"You what? That could've been Seras! You could've just killed your master - and my friend - you worthless slag heap!"

"Statement: Unlikely, I used magnetic mines. Organic meatbags such as yourself would be unlikely to set them off, but should any of those silver fakers come this way... Well, let's just say that the resulting, metallic carnage would be most satisfying." HK stuck his head out of the doorway... only to pull it back a split second latter as a blaster bolt wizzed by it.

"Statement: It looks like we've got trouble. The tunnel's filled with those fakers and their dark, meatbag masters." HK 47 walked back over to the lightsaber, picked it up off the ground, and tossed it to Heinkel. "Instruction: Catch, meatbag, and get ready to help me hold them off." The droid then went into the corner of the room to retrieve the Dark Jedi's mutilated corpse from the same scanning machine he'd once been trapped in. HK dragged the bloody thing from its resting place - much to the chagrin of the younglings, who were trying desperately hard to block that entire memory from their minds, - and carried it, one handed, over to the doorway, where he tossed it out at the advancing enemy.

"What was that for?" Heinkel asked with an odd look upon her face.

"Answer: Psychological Warfare. Elaboration: Meatbags tend to be quite squeamish about what befalls their remains for some strange reason."

"It's not strange, it-"

Heinkel was once again cut off as the droid dialed up his volume. "Challenging Inquiry: Who wants to be the first to join your comrade?" The droid then turned back to the Jedi and dialed his volume back down to normal. "Statement: Now would be a good time to activate that lightsaber."

* * *

Seras came to slowly, the black of unconsciousness fading to the dim illumination of the crypt she was in. The former Jedi became aware of her surroundings and for a second wondered just how she'd gotten herself knocked to the dust covered floor. Then she noticed the skeleton lying beside her and remembered what had happened. She'd been lured here, by a child who was something entirely different from what she seemed, and then attacked.

Seras's hand went for her lightsaber, but it wasn't clipped to her belt like it had previously been, and she realized that it must've been knocked loose when she fell to the floor. So she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out Heinkel's borrowed lightsaber instead. She flicked it on as she cautiously rose to her feet and looked around. The hum of the device somehow helped to reassure and calm the former Jedi as she searched the room for any would be attackers or traps. But, as she looked down at the yellow blade, she found herself somewhat nostalgic for the bronze color she'd become so accustomed to.

This was not her lightsaber. It was borrowed. And though it might serve to protect her for the time being, it would have to be returned to its owner when the former Jedi met back up with her. Seras needed to find her own lightsaber before she could leave. Then something surprising happened. A foggy picture of the lightsaber's location flashed within the former Jedi's mind. It was not far; it had only rolled under the sarcophagus in the center of the room. Seras felt somewhat relived by the fact that her lightsaber was not lost to her, but this feeling was quickly overcome by shock as she realized that the location had come to her in a Force vision.

She'd always been adapt at Force visions. Many of her instructors at the academy had commented that it was the area of training where she'd excelled the most. But she'd lost this talent at the same time she'd lost all her other Force abilities, when she'd been deafened to the Force. What was going on?

Seras retrieved her lightsaber and then looked around her once more. She sensed no danger, no presence at all around her. So the former Jedi closed her eyes and chanced a light meditative state. And she was startled to find that she could once again fell the Force... though it was not as before. Before she felt it coursing through her, connecting her to the galaxy... now it seemed far off, a subtle thing, like a change in the breeze or a light whisper. Still, it was there. And despite everything she'd learned from her Sith Master and all his ranting and hatred towards the Force, the former Jedi was still pleased by it's reassuring presence... even if that presence was distant and barely detectable.

Seras's lips were pulled up into a happy smile as she reopened her eyes. But that joyful expression soon gave way to a more cautious one. For there, standing before her once more was the 'little girl' she'd followed into this tomb.

The former Jedi raised her lightsabers and assumed a defensive stance. "Calm yourself, young one. I mean you no harm," the mysterious girl in the white dress commented.

"No harm? No harm! What exactly do you call... whatever you and your pet monster did to me when I got here?" Seras nearly exploded as she held her combative stance.

"I call it 'necessary'... just as I did then. Poor child, you have no idea what you are, do you? Or what your  
Sith Master really is."

Seras was still cautious, but her stance lightened slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You are the last hope for this galaxy when the inevitable eventually comes upon us all. And you would throw all that away? For what, a single Jedi Master and some wet-behind-the-ears younglings?" The little girl's tone had a near incredulous edge to it.

"What are you talking about?" Seras asked in bewilderment.

"When you faced that Dark Jedi and his droids. You did so without any connection to the Force, without even the training to drain his connection, and without any allies to bolster your abilities. You would've died... had I not interfered."

"You?"

"Ah, so you are not as dense as you at first appear to be. Yes, I am the creature that drained that man. The 'monster' is not my pet; it is a part of me... and now, it is a part of you as well."

"Why would y-"

"Have you not been paying attention?" the little girl chided. "If you perish, we all perish. And I could not leave this place without a host."

"Wait, so you're saying I'm... I'm what? Possessed?"

"Possessed, such a crude term. Think of this more as a joining. You needed someone... or something to watch out for you when these altruistic, self-destructive tendencies take hold of you and your master is not around. And I need a champion - the whole galaxy needs a champion - for when the seeds that were sown centuries ago finally bare their fruit. So I joined with you. My power, my counsel, and what remains of my connection to the Force are yours to use. I only hope you use them wisely."

"Who are you?" Seras finally asked in astonishment. She'd heard stories of course, stories told to frighten younglings and warn them away from areas strong in the dark side of the Force, stories of Sith ghosts and spirits that would attack or seek to corrupt any they encountered. Some claimed that they were the dark side given form, a manifestation of everything any good Jedi feared, that with their bodies gone and unable or unwilling to become one with the Force at the time of death the dark side had wholly consumed these men and women and twisted them into the very personification of evil. But this girl... she did not seem _so_ evil, rough and demanding definitely, but not evil. Would evil seek to save another? To lend its strength to those in need? Seras knew her mysterious benefactor had not done either of these things solely out of the goodness of her heart, that she had her own agenda. Even still, she did seem genuine in her concern over the future of the galaxy.

"You seek a name, do you? But of course you do, such things allow us to begin associating with one another. Well, I have been called many things: Master, Teacher, Lord, The Betrayer, The Blind Seer, an Old Hag Who Talks Too Much. You... You may call me Helena, a new name for a new relationship."

"Very well, 'Helena'. Now, let's talk about what exactly you did to me and why."

"I would be more than happy to educate you, but time is fleeting. And I'm afraid your friends have little enough of it as it is."

"My fri-" Before Seras could finish the question another picture flashed in her mind. It was an image of Heinkel, the younglings and HK 47 locked in a hopelessly one-side battle against a host of silver-plated assassination droids and a handful of Dark Jedi. Seras's questions were forgotten as her mind was filled with concern and she rushed back to her friends, the whispers of the Force guiding her along the way.

* * *

"Statement: Fry, you shiny, silver-plated imitations, fry!" HK called as he threw a grenade at the slowly advancing enemy and it exploded in a small wave of ionized energy, overloading the circuitry of a half dozen enemy droids and causing them to explode.

The Dark Jedi were able to use the Force to erect a barrier between themselves and the shrapnel, but chips of metal became imbedded in the hulls of several of the remaining enemy droids. They either didn't notice or didn't seem to care as they continued their advance indifferent to the fate of their comrades and the 'body parts' jutting out of their plating.

Heinkel reached out with the Force and grasped the blasters from the fallen droids. She whipped them back behind her, back through the doorway where her and HK were making their stand against the overwhelming enemy advance. "I know you kids don't have much practice with such crude weapons," the Jedi began, drawing as much of an unhappy look from the droid beside her as his less than expressive face was able to form. Heinkel ignored the machine's obvious displeasure from her insult of his weapon of choice and continued, "But we're going to need all the support we can get if we're to survive this."

The five oldest younglings and Rouque nodded in understanding, retrieved the scavenged blasters, and took up positions beside their two defenders. Heinkel did her best to block the bolts aimed at the three younglings beside her, while the three opposite them used the armor plated, energy shielded droid as cover. All six younglings happy lent their clumsy fire to the small group's defense, and with their help - inaccurate and random as it was - the advancing line was forced to slow a little more.

One of the Dark Jedi stopped and pulled a plasma grenade from a fold in his robe. He tossed the device towards the defenders, and it almost hit Rouque square in the jaw. But instead the grenade stopped to hover for a few seconds right in front of the youngling's face. He turned and saw Deline, her arms stretched out, using the Force to hold it in place. Then she pushed and the sphere of death went flying back at the enemy line... only to be detonated, by a stab of lightning, just shy of the Dark Jedi in the back.

"Saved your life," Deline chirped happily at her friend, and Rouque smiled before returning his attention to the enemy.

Although it had failed to reach the Dark Jedi in the back, the fiery detonation had burned through the hulls and circuits of a few more enemy droids and Heinkel reached out to claim their weapons just as she'd done to the others. The same Dark Jedi who'd detonated the grenade fired off another blast of lighting, this time at the Jedi master he assumed would be too preoccupied to block it.

It turned out he assumed incorrectly, as Heinkel released her grip upon the double bladed lightsaber and used the Force to hold the center of it and spin it rapidly in place, forming a makeshift shield of red energy.

Enraged by his failed attempt to fry the enemy Jedi Master, the Dark Jedi fired off another bolt and then another, trying to break through her defense, but he was unsuccessful. And while his attention was so diverted, HK was able to take aim and drive a blaster bolt right between his eyes. The dark robed figure fell lifeless to the floor, a gaping hole having been singed through his face.

"Proud Mockery: 'Such crude weapons' indeed."

But despite the defenders best efforts the enemy line continued to advance, and they all knew that once it breached the bottle neck of the room's entrance they were as good as dead... or worse, drained to fuel whatever dark ritual the enemy was attempting with that partially decomposed corpse.

"We're not going to make it are we?" Rouque asked solemnly.

Heinkel hesitated for a second.

"Comforting Statement: It's unlikely, but at least our end will be an exciting one!" HK droned in monotone.

Heinkel wasn't exactly sure how that statement was suppose to 'comforting', and from the look on his face Rouque didn't seem to be either.

"Never give up hope, child. You never know what's waiting just around the corner."

"Statement: Logic indicates that, if anything, a second wave is waiting around the corner, since the enemy has probably already reported our position to their commander."

"Would you just shut up already?" Heinkel called out to the droid. "You're not helping." And as if in response to the Jedi and Droid's differing theories on just what might lay around the corner, something did suddenly appear behind the advancing enemy line.

Seras ran up to the Dark Jedi behind the line of advancing droids, and hurled her lightsaber right into the back of one of them, piercing her heart and insuring the enemy's death. The former Jedi then leapt into the air as the remaining three Dark Jedi realized that their rear flank was under attack and turned to defend themselves. Before they had the chance to react however, Seras was behind them once more, landing in the midst of a dozen enemy droids.

The droids were of little concern though, since the Sith apprentice had begun storing Force lightning in her body while airborne and the primal energy exploded from where she landed, frying the droids around her and turning them into nothing but dead weight. Seras moved her right arm in a sweeping motion, clearing the area immediately around her and directing the hunks of inanimate metal around her back and back towards their dark masters in a bombardment of steel.

The Dark Jedi did their best to block the projectiles, but they were still a step behind the former Jedi as she reach out and summoned her lightsaber back to her and then charged the enemy at incredible speed. Using the still flying metal 'bodies' as cover, she was upon them once more; and, before they'd even realized, she'd cut two of them in half, one with the lightsaber in her left hand and the other with the one in her right.

The single remaining Force sensitive enemy, managed to back-flip away from Seras, and ready himself before she could reach him. His face was filled with terror though. This single Force user had just dissembled four of them, and a dozen droids, in the space of a few seconds. He'd never seen anything like this before.

Indeed, even Seras was surprised by her new found power. It was incredible; the energy contained within that Sith Ghost coupled with the flow from her nearby allies had given her more power than she'd ever known. It was intoxicating, and the enemy cowering before her provoked nothing more than contempt.

He was weak, pathetic, and she found herself laughing as she broke through his meager defenses and shoved her fist through his chest. She tore out her enemies' heart and she did so with a sadistic grin on her face, one that seemed much more characteristic of her master than herself. She squeezed her hand, then threw the perforate heart away. Then she turned her attention towards the enemy droids.

They would not bleed for her, but they would fall before her. She charged, and it was not until she'd broken through the line and stood panting, high off adrenaline, and covered in blood and oil that she stopped. Her enemies were gone, but she wanted more; she wanted to keep fighting. She wanted to kill, and the look upon her face revealed all of this.

"Approval: That's the way to do it, Master!" HK47 cheered and pumped his blaster arm p in the air.

"Seras!" Heinkel called out in shock.

And finally, Seras's frenzy began to fade. "I..."

"Seras, what's happened to you?" Heinkel continued, concern plain upon her face.

"I was..." Seras began, then switched tracks. "I-We don't have the time right now. They'll be more of them on the way. We have to get moving."

"Seras, talk to me," Heinkel pleaded with her friend. She could tell by the girl's expression that she was nearly as concerned about what she'd done - or rather how she'd done it - as her former master was.

"I-I will... But not now. We need to get moving."

Heinkel looked over at the younglings, her charges, and realized that yes, for the sake of their safety, they had to get going. She would let the issue rest... for now.

* * *

Well, hope you all enjoyed the tenth chapter. I'm afraid it'll be the last one for awhile though. :( You see I originally started this sequel as part of a chapter trading agreement with Lila (AKA Lion in the Land), as you may have deduced from my ending chapter notes to her about how it's her turn to update now. And, well, she's putting her fic on hiatus for the time being, and somehow it would just feel odd continuing this story without our chapter swap deal. Plus my mind's been turning more easily towards another AxS fic I've recently started. So, maybe I should be concentrating on that more anyway? So yeah, this is going to go on hiatus... for now at least.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

**PS.** If any of you happen to be Harry Potter fans as well, you should totally check out Lila's two HP fics: "Professor Burbage and the Potion Master" and "Charity Burbage and the New Prince". The former's already complete and is almost thirty chapters in length while the latter is nine chapters long and temporarily on hiatus. So yeah, probably best to start at the beginning. ;p They can both be found on Lion in the Land's FF author's page, or right in my list of favorite stories. ;)

**To Larisa:** Yes, I see that you're still following the adventure and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous ones. Sorry to be putting it on Hiatus. :( But if I'm going to be able to keep up with my weekly updating on No-Life Queen (which I suspect you're enjoying even more) once my new school term starts, I'd have to cut back on this one anyway. Besides, my Muse seems to be a lot more responsive to No-Life Queen lately anyway. ;p So probably best to concentrate on that. Anyway, thanks for the review, and I hope you continue to enjoy my writing. :)


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